noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation, US:/ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:T R EH2 P IH0 D EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Anxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
I decided, with considerable trepidation, to let him drive my car without me.
An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: quaking, quivering
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a feeling of alarm or dread
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.