Synonyms for fret

Most common

worry · fuss · trouble · chafe · wear away · eat · choke

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

Noun

Antonyms

relax, unwind, calm down

All antonyms of fret →

Definitions

1. v. 1

   To chafe or irritate; to worry.

2. v. 2

   To make rough, to agitate or disturb; to cause to ripple.

   Don't fret the surface of the lake.

3. v. 3

   In the form fret out: to squander, to waste.

4. n. 1

   Agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or some other cause; a rippling on the surface of water.

Related words

Word family

fretful fretsome fretty fretwork

Phrases

sea fret

Forms

Plural

frets → sweats, stews, lathers, swithers…

Past participle

fretted
e.g. fretted → worried, fussed, troubled, chafed…

Example sentences

• worry As regards the result, you need not worry so much.
• fuss It doesn't become a gentleman to fuss over trifles.
• chafe The shoes will chafe if you don't wear socks.
• agonize I hope we didn't agonize over this decision for nothing.
• gnaw We all know that dogs like to gnaw on bones.

Popularity over time

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters

eat¹, rub¹, gag¹

4 letters

pain¹, wear¹, rage¹, fuss¹, stew¹, fray¹, gall¹, fume¹, gnaw¹

5 letters

worry², sweat¹, choke¹, annoy², grate¹, erode², pique¹, chafe¹

6 letters

plague¹, ripple², lather², pester², fidget², pucker², niggle, rankle², abrade², fretum

7 letters

trouble², scratch¹, corrode², agonize³, agonise, roughen, corrade, swither

8 letters

disquiet³, vexation

10 letters

irritation⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (worry² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français

dévorer

Italiano

divorare

Español

consumir

Deutsch

verschlingen