dreads
dreads Lexical Profile
dreads Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To anticipate with great apprehension, fear, or reluctance (third-person singular present of dread).
"Every winter, he dreads the long, icy commute into the city."
• noun
Rope-like strands of hair formed by matting, braiding, or twisting locks together; an informal shortening of dreadlocks.
"He decided to grow out his hair and style it into long dreads."
Intense feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety about something that may happen in the future (plural of dread).
"She spoke openly about her deepest dreads regarding the uncertain economic climate."
• Rhymes for dreads
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
In its informal plural sense referring to hair, the term is a mid-20th-century clipping of 'dreadlocks', originating in Jamaican Rastafarian culture. As an inflection of 'dread', it traces back to Old English 'ondrædan', meaning to fear or be terrified.