← Back to Fala2Me

deepen fear

[/ˈdiːpən fɪr/]
verb phrase
aprofundar o medo
1. to make fear more intense, profound, or serious
The dark forest deepened their fear of the unknown.
A floresta escura aprofundou seu medo do desconhecido.
2. to increase the severity or gravity of a fear or anxiety
Bad news deepened the public's fear of economic collapse.
As más notícias aprofundaram o medo do público de um colapso econômico.
Synonyms
intensify fearincrease fearamplify fearexacerbate fearheighten fearaggravate fear
Antonyms
allay fearease fearreduce fearmitigate feardiminish fearcalm fear

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
aprofundar o medo / intensificar o medo
Most commonly used in Brazilian Portuguese
São Paulo
aprofundar o medo
Standard usage in urban contexts
Portugal
aprofundar o medo / acentuar o medo
Both forms acceptable in European Portuguese

Related Idioms & Phrases

strike fear into someone's heart
fear runs deep
compound the fear
fan the flames of fear
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →