dread

/dred/ verb

Definition

› [T] to feel worried or frightened about something that has not happened yet: I'm dreading the first day at my new school. [+ doing sth] I dread seeing him again.

I dread to think UK › used to say that you do not want to think about something because it is too worrying: I dread to think what could have happened if we hadn't been wearing seat belts.

(Definition of dread verb from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)