bear
verb /beə(r)/
/ber/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they bear | /beə(r)/ /ber/ |
| he / she / it bears | /beəz/ /berz/ |
| past simple bore | /bɔː(r)/ /bɔːr/ |
| past participle borne | /bɔːn/ /bɔːrn/ |
| -ing form bearing | /ˈbeərɪŋ/ /ˈberɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] (used especially with can/could in negative sentences and questions) to be able to accept and deal with something unpleasant synonym stand
- bear something The pain was almost more than he could bear.
- She bore it all with her usual patience.
- She couldn't bear the thought of losing him.
- bear doing something I can't bear having cats in the house.
- He can't bear being laughed at.
- bear to do something He can't bear to be laughed at.
- I can hardly bear to think about it.
- How can you bear to eat that stuff?
- bear somebody doing something I can't bear you doing that.
Homophones bare | bearbare bear/beə(r)//ber/- bare adjective
- The room looked strangely bare without the furniture.
- bear noun
- Staff reported finding polar bear tracks in the snow.
- bear verb
- How can you bear this awful noise?
Synonyms hatehate- dislike
- can’t stand
- despise
- can’t bear
- loathe
- detest
- hate to have a strong feeling of dislike for somebody/something. Although hate is generally a very strong verb, it is also commonly used in spoken or informal English to talk about people or things that you dislike in a less important way, for example a particular type of food: He hates violence in any form. • I’ve always hated cabbage.
- dislike (rather formal) to not like somebody/something. Dislike is a rather formal word; it is less formal, and more usual, to say that you don't like somebody/something, especially in spoken English: I don’t like it when you phone me so late at night.
- can’t stand (rather informal) used to emphasize that you really do not like somebody/something:
- I can’t stand his brother.
- She couldn’t stand being kept waiting.
- despise to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something:
- He despised himself for being so cowardly.
- can’t bear used to say that you dislike something so much that you cannot accept or deal with it:
- I can’t bear having cats in the house.
- loathe to hate somebody/something very much:
- They loathe each other.
- detest (rather formal) to hate somebody/something very much:
- They absolutely detest each other.
- I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear/loathe/detest doing something.
- I hate/can’t bear to do something.
- I hate/dislike/can’t stand/can’t bear it when…
- I really hate/dislike/can’t stand/despise/can’t bear/detest somebody/something.
- I absolutely hate/can’t stand/loathe/detest somebody/something.
Extra Examples- I just can't bear it any more!
- Don't leave me alone. I wouldn't be able to bear it.
- How can you bear this awful noise?
- She couldn't bear seeing him so upset.
- We could hardly bear to be outdoors in the blinding sunlight.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + bear- be able to
- can
- be unable to
- …
- [transitive] bear something (formal) to take responsibility for something
- She bore the responsibility for most of the changes.
- Do parents have to bear the whole cost of tuition fees?
- In the end it's consumers who bear the burden of higher prices.
- You shouldn't have to bear the blame for other people's mistakes.
- You must bear at least some responsibility for what has happened.
- [transitive] bear something to support the weight of somebody/something
- The ice is too thin to bear your weight.
- [transitive] bear something (formal) to show something; to carry something so that it can be seen
- The document bore her signature.
- He was badly wounded in the war and still bears the scars.
- She bears little resemblance to (= is not much like) her mother.
- The title of the essay bore little relation to (= was not much connected with) the contents.
- [transitive] not bear to not be suitable for something
- bear something Her later work does not bear comparison with her earlier novels (= because it is not nearly as good).
- The plan won't bear close inspection (= it will be found to be unacceptable when carefully examined).
- bear doing something The joke doesn't bear repeating (= because it is not funny or may offend people).
- His sufferings don't bear thinking about (= because they are so terrible).
- [transitive] to have a feeling, especially a negative feeling
- bear something He bears no resentment towards them.
- He's borne a grudge against me ever since that day.
- bear somebody something He's borne me a grudge ever since that day.
- She bore him no ill will.
- [transitive] bear something (formal) to have a particular name
- a family that bore an ancient and honoured name
- [transitive] bear somebody/something (old-fashioned or formal) to carry somebody/something, especially while moving
- three kings bearing gifts
Extra Examples- Guests starting arriving, mostly bearing gifts.
- He returned bearing a basket of vegetables.
- Her two sons helped bear the coffin.
- His parents had borne the child across the mountains.
- [transitive] bear yourself well, etc. (formal) to move, behave or act in a particular way
- He bears himself (= stands, walks, etc.) proudly, like a soldier.
- She bore herself with dignity throughout the funeral.
- [transitive] (formal) to give birth to a child
- bear something She was not able to bear children.
- bear somebody something She had borne him six sons.
- [transitive] bear something (formal) to produce flowers or fruit
- These trees take a long time to bear fruit.
- [intransitive] bear (to the) left, north, etc. to go or turn in the direction mentioned
- When you get to the fork in the road, bear right.
accept/deal with
be responsible for something
support weight
show
not be suitable
negative feeling
name
carry
yourself
child
of trees/plants
turn
Word Originverb Old English beran, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre.
Idioms
bear arms
- (old use) to be a soldier; to fight
bear fruit
- to have a successful resultTopics Successc2
bear hard, heavily, severely, etc. on somebody
- (formal) to be a cause of difficulty or worry to somebody
- Taxation bears heavily on us all.
- The burden of the tax bore most heavily on the poor.
bear/keep somebody/something in mind | bear/keep in mind that…
- to remember somebody/something; to remember or consider that…
- You don't have to do anything about it now… just bear it in mind.
Extra Examples- Here are some important points to keep in mind…
- I'll keep what you say in mind.
- Try to keep safety in the forefront of your mind at all times.
bear, take, etc. the brunt of something
- to receive the main force of something unpleasant
- Schools will bear the brunt of cuts in government spending.
bear/give witness (to something)
- to provide evidence of the truth of something
- The crowd of mourners at his funeral bore witness to the great affection in which he was held.
- The ancient temples bear silent witness to the passing dynasties.
be borne in on somebody
- (formal, especially British English) to be realized by somebody, especially after a period of time
- It was gradually borne in on us that defeat was inevitable.
bring something to bear (on somebody/something)
- (formal) to use energy, pressure, influence, etc. to try to achieve something or make somebody do something
- We must bring all our energies to bear upon the task.
- Pressure was brought to bear on us to finish the work on time.
grin and bear it
- (only used as an infinitive and in orders) to accept pain or bad luck without complaining
- There's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to grin and bear it.
have a (heavy) cross to bear
- to have a difficult problem that makes you worried or unhappy but that you have to deal with
- We all have our crosses to bear.