Fretting

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fretted}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Fretting}.] [OE. freten to eat, consume; AS. fretan,
     for foretan; pref. for- + etan to eat; akin to D. vreten,
     OHG. frezzan, G. fressen, Sw. fr[aum]ta, Goth. fra-itan. See
     {For}, and {Eat}, v. t.]
     1. To devour. [Obs.]


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              The sow frete the child right in the cradle.
                                                    --Chaucer.
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     2. To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall;
        hence, to eat away; to gnaw; as, to fret cloth; to fret a
        piece of gold or other metal; a worm frets the plants of a
        ship.
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              With many a curve my banks I fret.    --Tennyson.
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     3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish.
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              By starts
              His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear. --Shak.
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     4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple;
        as, to fret the surface of water.
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     5. To tease; to irritate; to vex.
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              Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps.
                                                    xxxvii. 1.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fretting
       See {fret}

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fret
       n 1: agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a
            stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams" [syn: {stew}, {sweat},
             {lather}, {swither}]
       2: a spot that has been worn away by abrasion or erosion [syn:
          {worn spot}]
       3: an ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and
          horizonal lines (often in relief); "there was a simple
          fret at the top of the walls" [syn: {Greek fret}, {Greek
          key}, {key pattern}]
       4: a small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical
          instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the
          metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch
       v 1: worry unnecessarily or excessively; "don't fuss too much
            over the grandchildren--they are quite big now" [syn: {fuss},
             {niggle}]
       2: be agitated or irritated; "don't fret over these small
          details"
       3: provide (a musical instrument) with frets; "fret a guitar"
       4: become or make sore by or as if by rubbing [syn: {chafe}, {gall}]
       5: cause annoyance in
       6: gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The unjustice rankled
          her"; "his resentment festered" [syn: {eat into}, {rankle},
           {grate}]
       7: carve a pattern into
       8: decorate with an interlaced design
       9: be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the
          cat" [syn: {choke}, {gag}]
       10: cause friction; "my sweater scratches" [syn: {rub}, {fray},
           {chafe}, {scratch}]
       11: remove soil or rock; "Rain eroded the terraces" [syn: {erode},
            {eat away}]
       12: wear away or erode [syn: {eat away}]
       [also: {fretting}, {fretted}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  106 Moby Thesaurus words for "fretting":
     ablation, ablative, abradant, abrasion, abrasive, annoying, antsy,
     antsy-pantsy, anxiety, anxious, attrition, attritive, bothersome,
     breathless, breathless impatience, buffing, burnishing, chafe,
     chafing, detrition, disquieting, disquietude, distressful,
     distressing, disturbing, dressing, eager, eagerness, edgy, erasure,
     erosion, erosive, excited, excitement, filing, fretful,
     fretfulness, galling, gnawing, grating, grazing, grinding,
     harassing, harassment, haste, hasty, hopped-up, impatience,
     impatient, impatientness, impetuous, impetuousness, in a lather,
     in a stew, in a sweat, irritant, irritating, irritative, lather,
     limation, on edge, plaguing, polishing, rasping, restive,
     restiveness, restless, restlessness, rubbing away, sandblasting,
     sanding, scouring, scrape, scraping, scratch, scratching, scratchy,
     scrub, scrubbing, scuff, shining, smoothing, squirming, squirmy,
     stew, stinging, sweat, tense readiness, torment, tormenting,
     troublesome, uneasiness, uneasy, unpatient, unpatientness, unquiet,
     unquietness, upsetting, wear, wearing away, worriedness,
     worries and cares, worriment, worrisome, worry, worrying