"afraid of" 的英式音标为 /əˈfreɪd ɒv/，美式音标为 /əˈfreɪd ʌv/，核心含义是“害怕……的”“对……感到恐惧的”，表示因某人、某物或某种情况而产生恐惧情绪。作为固定搭配，它通常用于描述人对特定对象的畏惧心理，后接名词、代词或动名词（doing形式）。

用法解析：

基本结构：be动词 + afraid of + 宾语（名词/代词/动名词）

语义侧重：强调对具体事物或行为的恐惧心理，而非暂时的惊吓反应

否定形式：在be动词后加not，即"be not afraid of"表示“不害怕……”

例句10句：

Many children are afraid of the dark, especially when sleeping alone.

She has never been afraid of hard work, which helped her succeed quickly.

Are you afraid of spiders? I can remove that one from your desk.

The team wasn't afraid of taking risks to develop their innovative product.

My grandfather is afraid of flying, so he always travels by train.

They seem afraid of speaking English in public for fear of making mistakes.

Don't be afraid of asking questions—no question is too simple here.

The company was afraid of losing customers after raising prices.

He became afraid of water after nearly drowning as a child.

We should not be afraid of change; it often brings new opportunities.

常见短语搭配：

afraid of heights 恐高

afraid of failure 害怕失败

afraid of the unknown 畏惧未知

afraid of confrontation 害怕冲突

afraid of making mistakes 怕犯错

too afraid to（后接动词原形）太害怕而不敢……
Example: She was too afraid to tell her parents the truth.

理解"afraid of"的用法关键在于区分它与"scared of"的细微差别：前者更强调持续的心理状态，后者常表示突然的、强烈的恐惧感受。掌握这个短语能更精准地表达日常生活中的各种畏惧情绪，你觉得在哪些场景下使用它最恰当？