From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Afraid \A*fraid"\, p. a. [OE. afrayed, affraide, p. p. of afraien to affray. See {Affray}, and cf. {Afeard}.] Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear; apprehensive. [Afraid comes after the noun it limits.] ''Back they recoiled, afraid.'' --Milton.
Note: This word expresses a less degree of fear than terrified or frightened. It is followed by of before the object of fear, or by the infinitive, or by a dependent clause; as, to be afraid of death. ''I am afraid to die.'' ''I am afraid he will chastise me.'' ''Be not afraid that I your hand should take.'' --Shak. I am afraid is sometimes used colloquially to soften a statement; as, I am afraid I can not help you in this matter.
Syn: Fearful; timid; timorous; alarmed; anxious.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: filled with fear or apprehension; "afraid even to turn his head"; "suddenly looked afraid"; "afraid for his life"; "afraid of snakes"; "afraid to ask questions" [syn: {afraid(p)}] [ant: {unafraid(p)}]
2: filled with regret or concern; used often to soften an unpleasant statement; "I'm afraid I won't be able to come"; "he was afraid he would have to let her go"; "I'm afraid you're wrong"
3: feeling worry or concern or insecurity; "She was afraid that I might be embarrassed"; "terribly afraid of offending someone"; "I am afraid we have witnessed only the first phase of the conflict"
4: having feelings of aversion or unwillingness; "afraid of hard work"; "affaid to show emotion"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
88 Moby Thesaurus words for "afraid": abulic, afeared, aghast, anxious, apologetic, apprehensive, averse, backward, cautious, chary, chicken, chickenhearted, coward, cowardly, cowed, craven, daunted, dismayed, edgy, faint, fainthearted, fear-struck, feared, fearful, feeble, feebleminded, frail, frightened, fritter, funking, funky, haunted with fear, henhearted, hesitant, indisposed, infirm, intimidated, invertebrate, jittery, jumpy, lily-livered, loath, milk-livered, milksoppish, milksoppy, mousy, nervous, on edge, overtimid, overtimorous, panic-prone, panic-stricken, panicky, pigeonhearted, pliable, pusillanimous, rabbity, regretful, reluctant, rueful, scared, scared to death, scary, shrinking, shy, sissified, sissy, skittish, soft, sorry, spineless, spooked, terrified, timid, timorous, uneager, unhappy, unmanly, unmanned, unwilling, wary, weak, weak-kneed, weak-minded, weak-willed, weakhearted, white-livered, yellow
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Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
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