Fearful of is the standard pattern for fearing something. Fearful about and fearful for are also common in specific meanings. Fearful in and fearful as are not standard combinations after fearful.
Use fearful of for the thing that causes fear. Use fearful about for worry concerning a situation, especially in informal English. Use fearful for when you fear for another person's safety or future. Fearful in and fearful as are generally not idiomatic patterns after fearful.
These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.
Fearful of is the most common and standard pattern.
Fearful about often emphasizes anxiety concerning a future event or situation.
Fearful for is used when you worry about another person's safety, wellbeing, or future.
The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.
Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.
Fearful is not normally followed by as.
✕ He is fearful as public speaking. ✓ He is fearful of public speaking.Fearful for expresses concern about someone else, not personal fear of something.
✕ She is fearful for spiders. ✓ She is fearful of spiders.In can introduce a place or situation, but it is not the selected preposition after fearful.
✕ They are fearful in change. ✓ They are fearful of change.Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.
Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.
Yes. It is commonly used for anxiety or concern about a situation or future event.
Yes, but in usually introduces a place or context rather than forming a fixed combination with fearful.
Fearful of means afraid of something yourself. Fearful for means worried about another person's wellbeing or future.
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