craindre

Craindre is a French verb meaning to fear or to be afraid of. It is irregular and used with several constructions to express fear about a person, thing, or event. The verb forms a stem with crain- in several tenses: present je crains, tu crains, il craint, nous craignons, vous craignez, ils craignent; imperfect je craignais, tu craignais, il craignait, nous craignions, vous craigniez, ils craignaient; future je craindrai, tu craindras, il craindra, nous craindrons, vous craindrez, ils craindront; conditional je craindrais, tu craindrais, il craindrait, nous craindrions, vous craindriez, ils craindraient. The present subjunctive is que je craigne, que tu craignes, qu'il craigne, que nous craignions, que vous craigniez, qu'ils craignent; imperative: crains, craignons, craignez. The past participle is craint, used with avoir in compound tenses (il a craint).

Usage: Craindre governs either a direct object (il craint le pire) or a subordinate clause with que + subjonctif (je crains qu'il ne vienne pas). It can also be followed by de + infinitif to express fear of performing an action (je crains de ne pas y arriver). In everyday speech, avoir peur de is common and often preferred for simple fear, while craindre tends to be more formal or literary and conveys a sense of trepidation or foreboding.

Etymology: The verb derives from Old French craindre and has cognates in other Romance languages, such as Spanish temer, Italian temere, and Portuguese temer. See also avoir peur de and temer for related expressions.