alarm、fear、fright、horror、panic、terror与dread这些名词均含“恐惧、惧怕、惊恐”之意。
alarm ：强调突然意识到有危险而产生的恐惧心理。
- I felt a growing sense of alarm when he did not return that night.
那天夜里他没有回家，我越来越感到恐慌。
fear ：普通用词，侧重指面临危险或灾祸时内心所引起的恐惧心情。
- We lived in constant fear of losing our jobs.
我们一直生活在担心失去工作的阴影里。
fright ：通常指一阵突然的、令人震惊的短暂恐惧，有时含夸张意味。
- The steam pipes rattled suddenly, and Franklin uttered a shriek and jumped with fright.
蒸汽管突然发出咯咯的响声，富兰克林尖叫一声，吓得跳了起来。
horror ：侧重指因看到令人讨厌或危险的东西或情景而引起的厌恶情绪、极度恐惧心情或战栗的动作。
- People watched in horror as the plane crashed to the ground.
人们惊恐地看着飞机坠落到地面上。 - With a look of horror, he asked if the doctor thought he had cancer.
他惊恐失色地问医生是否认定他患了癌症。
panic ：常指因突如其来的外界威胁使人群出现惊慌、恐惧或混乱。
- Office workers fled in panic as the fire took hold.
火势起来时，办公室人员惊慌逃出。
terror ：指极大的恐惧和惊骇，语气最强。
- People fled from the explosion in terror.
人们惊恐地逃离了爆炸现场。
dread ：可与 fear 换用，着重害怕的心理，但 dread 常指胆怯和丧失勇气。
- The committee members live in dread of anything that may cause a scandal.
委员会成员整天提心吊胆，生怕有什么事会引起流言飞语。
