惶惶不安：afraid的用法与辨析

 Bran:“Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”Ned: “That is the only time a man can be brave.”

——Game of Thrones

“一个人如果害怕，还能勇敢么？”

“人只有在害怕的时候才会变勇敢啊。”

——《权利的游戏》

一、下面我们来看看afraid有几种含义

adj.

1.害怕的，恐惧的 feeling fear; frightened because you think that you might be hurt or suffer

Are you afraid of snakes?

你怕蛇吗?

2.担心的，忧虑的，顾忌的，犯愁的 worried about what might happen

The trade unions were afraid that the government would wield a big stick over them.

工会担心政府会对他们采取强硬手段。

二、词义辨析：还有哪些词汇能表示“害怕的”的意思

afraid, fearful, awful, dreadful, frightful, terrible, horrible, terrific, appalling

这些形容词均含“害怕的、可怕的”之意。afraid指由于胆小或怯懦而不敢说或做某事。fearful普通用词，既指外界情况变化而引起的恐惧，又指来自内心的害怕与焦虑。awful指威严得令人害怕或敬畏，有一定的感情色彩。dreadful指使人非常恐惧，毛骨悚然，也使人感到讨厌而退缩。frightful指使人陷入短暂的惊恐或产生毛骨悚然的感觉。terrible侧重指给人以长久的惊骇，极端的恐怖，令人难以忍受。horrible指因骇人听闻的丑恶而令人毛骨悚然，着重厌恶的成分多于害怕。terrific多指外表、形状或力量等的可怕。appalling指既令害怕又使人惊异、胆寒。

三、接下来，做个小测试吧

She was ______ of upsetting her parents.她担心会使她父母不安。