Unpleasant emotional and physiological response to recognized sources of danger, to be distinguished from anxiety.
One of the most powerful emotions. May follow or accompany feelings associated with the inability to cope or to overcome a threatening situation. Most fears are irrational. One’s reaction may be either to fight or to flee.
A state where a person is afraid of something.
An emotional state evoked by threat of danger and usually characterized by unpleasant subjective experiences and physiological and behavioral changes. Fear is often distinguished from anxiety in having a specific object. Physiological changes can include increases in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, etc. Behavioral changes can include an avoidance of fear producing objects or situations and may be extremely disabling; for example, fear of open spaces. These specific disabling fears are known as ‘phobias. Treatment of short-term fears, such as the fear of hearing the results of an examination, can be relieved by tranquilizers, such as diazepam.
An emotional condition provoked by danger and usually characterized by unpleasant subjective feelings accompanied by physiological and behavioural changes. The heart rate increases, sweating occurs and the blood pressure rises. Sometimes fear of certain events or places may develop into a phobia: for example, agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces.
Anxiety caused by a perceived threat, real or imagined. Focussed apprehension and fright.