different between afraid vs vexed

English

Etymology

From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) +? freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“security, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from Proto-Germanic *frij?n? (“to free; to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr?y-, *pr?y- (“to like, love”). Synchronically analyzable as affray +? -ed. Compare also afeard. More at free, friend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f?e?d/
• Rhymes: -e?d

Adjective

afraid (comparative more afraid, superlative most afraid)

1. (usually used predicatively, not attributively, be afraid) Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.

   Synonyms: afeared, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, fearful, timid, timorous; see also Thesaurus:afraid

2. (colloquial) Regretful, sorry.

   Synonym: sorry

3. (used with for) Worried about, feeling concern for, fearing for (someone or something).

Usage notes

• Afraid expresses a lesser degree of fear than terrified or frightened. It is often followed by the preposition of and the object of fear, or by an infinitive, or by a dependent clause, as shown in the examples above.

Derived terms

Related terms

• afear
• afeared
• affray
• fray

Translations

See also

• fear

Welsh

Etymology

af- (“un-”) +? rhaid (“necessity”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?avrai?d/

Adjective

afraid (feminine singular afraid, plural afraid, equative afreidied, comparative afreidiach, superlative afreidiaf)

1. unnecessary, unessential
   • c. 1500, Ieuan Tew, poem in Cwrt Mawr manuscript no. 5, published and translated 1921 by T. Gwynn Jones, “Cultural Bases. A Study of the Tudor Period in Wales”, Y Cymmrodor. The Magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, vol. 31, page 182:

     mogelwch yma golyn
     a fo goeg, ag afu gwyn—
     a choegddyn crin, ledryn crach,
     o fradwr—nid afreidiach;

     beware of the sting of white-livered wretches, and every withered, niggardly wretch of a traitor—it were not less necessary;

   • c. 1600, Edmwnd Prys, quoted in A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative by J. Morris Jones, Oxford: 1913, p. 44:

     Amlwg fydd tr?yn a’r wyneb;
     Afraid i ni nodi neb.

     Plain is the nose on a face; it is unnecessary for us to mention anyone.

Noun

afraid m (plural afreidiau)

1. superfluity, extravagance

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “afraid”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

English

Etymology

From Middle English vexed, vexede, vexit, vixid, equivalent to vex +? -ed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?v?kst/
• Rhymes: -?kst

Adjective

vexed (comparative more vexed, superlative most vexed)

1. annoyed, irritated or distressed

   She became more and more vexed as she struggled to cope with the demands of the job.

   • 1990, Terry Pratchett, Eric, p. 72

     He would be left in no doubt that they were annoyed. He might even go so far as to deduce that they were quite vexed.

2. much debated, discussed or disputed

Derived terms

• vexedly

Translations

Verb

vexed

1. simple past tense and past participle of vex

Anagrams

• devex