"lest" meaning in English

See lest in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Conjunction

IPA: /lɛst/, /liːst/ [obsolete] Audio: en-us-lest.ogg [US]
Rhymes: -ɛst Etymology: c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt “that”) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste. Etymology templates: {{circa2|1200|short=yes}} c. 1200, {{inh|en|enm||les te|t=less that}} Middle English les te (“less that”), {{inh|en|ang|þȳ lǣs þe|t=whereby less that}} Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), {{m|ang|þȳ}} þȳ, {{m|ang|lǣs||less}} lǣs (“less”), {{m|ang|þe}} þe Head templates: {{en-con}} lest
  1. For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case. Tags: formal, literary Synonyms: before [informal] Translations (for fear that): μή (mḗ) (Ancient Greek), μήποτε (mḗpote) (Ancient Greek), خِيفَةَ أَنَّ (ḵīfata ʔanna) (Arabic), مَخَافَةَ أَن (maḵāfata ʔan) (Arabic), harambili (Bikol Central), от страх да не (ot strah da ne) (Bulgarian), 以免 (yǐmiǎn) (Chinese Mandarin), ze strachu, že ... (Czech), v případě, že ... (Czech), uit angst dat (Dutch), pro timo ke (Esperanto), siltä varalta, että (note: + conditional) (Finnish), siinä pelossa, että (Finnish), sen pelossa, että (Finnish), ettei (Finnish), jottei (Finnish), de peur que (French), sans quoi (French), non sexa que (Galician), რათა არ (english: rata ar) (Georgian), fürchtend, dass (German), in der Furcht, dass (German), 𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹 (ibai) (Gothic), פֶּן (pen) (Hebrew), nehogy (Hungarian), ar eagla go (Irish), per paura che (Italian), しないように (shinai yō ni) (Japanese), ក្រែង (kraeŋ) (Khmer), kei tūpono (Maori), þȳ lǣs (Old English), ze strachu, że (Polish), para que (Portuguese), a fim de que ... não (Portuguese), în caz că (Romanian), из страха (Russian), что (Russian), iz straha da ne (Serbo-Croatian), da ne bi (Serbo-Croatian), da ne bi (Slovene), no vaya a ser que (Spanish), bundan korkarak (Turkish), боячи́сь, що (bojačýsʹ, ščo) (Ukrainian) Translations (that … not): μή (mḗ) (Ancient Greek), μήποτε (mḗpote) (Ancient Greek), পাছে (pache) (Bengali), да не (da ne) (Bulgarian), за да не (za da ne) (Bulgarian), aby ... ne (Czech), opdat ... niet (Dutch), ettei (Finnish), jottei (Finnish), bevor (German), auf dass nicht (German), nehogy (Hungarian), nē (Latin), kei (Maori), þȳ lǣs (Old English), żeby nie (Polish), чтобы не (Russian), и́на́че (ínáče) (Russian), da ne (Serbo-Croatian), kako ne ... (Serbo-Croatian), så att inte [literally] (Swedish), bunun üzerine değil (Turkish), daha önce (Turkish), аби́ ... не (abý ... ne) (Ukrainian), щоб ... не (ščob ... ne) (Ukrainian), щоби ... не (ščoby ... ne) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-lest-en-conj-m4Bh77rQ Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 72 28 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 83 17 Disambiguation of 'for fear that': 98 2 Disambiguation of 'that … not': 98 2
  2. (after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension) that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.) Tags: formal, literary Translations (that (without the negative particle)): nē (Latin), care (Romanian), що (ščo) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-lest-en-conj-LZHCIKfw Disambiguation of 'that (without the negative particle)': 2 98
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: in case, judge not lest ye be judged, lest we forget

Download JSON data for lest meaning in English (12.2kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1200",
        "short": "yes"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1200",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "",
        "4": "les te",
        "t": "less that"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English les te (“less that”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "þȳ lǣs þe",
        "t": "whereby less that"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "þȳ"
      },
      "expansion": "þȳ",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "lǣs",
        "3": "",
        "4": "less"
      },
      "expansion": "lǣs (“less”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "þe"
      },
      "expansion": "þe",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt “that”) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "lest",
      "name": "en-con"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "in case"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "judge not lest ye be judged"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "lest we forget"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "72 28",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 565",
          "text": "And then Robert Loo came out swiftly with the half-filled jar lest more be said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1967, “I Am a Lonesome Hobo”, in Bob Dylan (music), John Wesley Harding",
          "text": "Stay free from petty jealousies / Live by no man's code / And hold your judgment for yourself / Lest you wind up on this road",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 July 27, “Lunacy?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8846",
          "text": "Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case."
      ],
      "id": "en-lest-en-conj-m4Bh77rQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "fear",
          "fear#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "informal"
          ],
          "word": "before"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "formal",
        "literary"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ḵīfata ʔanna",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "خِيفَةَ أَنَّ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "maḵāfata ʔan",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "مَخَافَةَ أَن"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "bcl",
          "lang": "Bikol Central",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "harambili"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "ot strah da ne",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "от страх да не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "yǐmiǎn",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "以免"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "ze strachu, že ..."
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "v případě, že ..."
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "uit angst dat"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "pro timo ke"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "+ conditional",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "siltä varalta, että"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "siinä pelossa, että"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "sen pelossa, että"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "ettei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "jottei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "de peur que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "sans quoi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "non sexa que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ka",
          "english": "rata ar",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "რათა არ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "fürchtend, dass"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "in der Furcht, dass"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "got",
          "lang": "Gothic",
          "roman": "ibai",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "mḗ",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "μή"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "mḗpote",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "μήποτε"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "pen",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "פֶּן"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "nehogy"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "ar eagla go"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "per paura che"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "shinai yō ni",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "しないように"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "km",
          "lang": "Khmer",
          "roman": "kraeŋ",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "ក្រែង"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "kei tūpono"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ang",
          "lang": "Old English",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "þȳ lǣs"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "ze strachu, że"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "para que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "a fim de que ... não"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "în caz că"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "из страха"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "что"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "iz straha da ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "da ne bi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "da ne bi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "note": "no + subjunctive",
          "sense": "for fear that"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "no vaya a ser que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "bundan korkarak"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "bojačýsʹ, ščo",
          "sense": "for fear that",
          "word": "боячи́сь, що"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "bn",
          "lang": "Bengali",
          "roman": "pache",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "পাছে"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "da ne",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "да не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "za da ne",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "за да не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "aby ... ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "opdat ... niet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "ettei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "jottei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "note": "pour que (+ ne ... pas + verb in subj. mood)",
          "sense": "that … not"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "bevor"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "auf dass nicht"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "mḗ",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "μή"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "mḗpote",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "μήποτε"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "nehogy"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "nē"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "kei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ang",
          "lang": "Old English",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "þȳ lǣs"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "żeby nie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "чтобы не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ínáče",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "и́на́че"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "da ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "kako ne ..."
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "note": "no + subjunctive",
          "sense": "that … not"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "tags": [
            "literally"
          ],
          "word": "så att inte"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "bunun üzerine değil"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "daha önce"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "abý ... ne",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "аби́ ... не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ščob ... ne",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "щоб ... не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ščoby ... ne",
          "sense": "that … not",
          "word": "щоби ... не"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There was danger lest the plan become known.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "I am afraid lest I revealed too much.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)"
      ],
      "id": "en-lest-en-conj-LZHCIKfw",
      "links": [
        [
          "apprehension",
          "apprehension"
        ],
        [
          "that",
          "that"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension) that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)"
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "formal",
        "literary"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "että (alternatively expressed with a participial phrase)",
          "sense": "that (without the negative particle)"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
          "word": "nē"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
          "word": "care"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ščo",
          "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
          "word": "що"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/lɛst/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛst"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/",
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-lest.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/57/En-us-lest.ogg/En-us-lest.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/En-us-lest.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "lest"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 1-syllable words",
    "English conjunctions",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English formal terms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English literary terms",
    "English subordinating conjunctions",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛst",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛst/1 syllable"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1200",
        "short": "yes"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1200",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "",
        "4": "les te",
        "t": "less that"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English les te (“less that”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "þȳ lǣs þe",
        "t": "whereby less that"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "þȳ"
      },
      "expansion": "þȳ",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "lǣs",
        "3": "",
        "4": "less"
      },
      "expansion": "lǣs (“less”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "þe"
      },
      "expansion": "þe",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt “that”) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "lest",
      "name": "en-con"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "in case"
    },
    {
      "word": "judge not lest ye be judged"
    },
    {
      "word": "lest we forget"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 565",
          "text": "And then Robert Loo came out swiftly with the half-filled jar lest more be said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1967, “I Am a Lonesome Hobo”, in Bob Dylan (music), John Wesley Harding",
          "text": "Stay free from petty jealousies / Live by no man's code / And hold your judgment for yourself / Lest you wind up on this road",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 July 27, “Lunacy?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8846",
          "text": "Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fear",
          "fear#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "informal"
          ],
          "word": "before"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "formal",
        "literary"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There was danger lest the plan become known.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "I am afraid lest I revealed too much.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "apprehension",
          "apprehension"
        ],
        [
          "that",
          "that"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension) that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)"
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "formal",
        "literary"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/lɛst/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛst"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/",
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-lest.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/57/En-us-lest.ogg/En-us-lest.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/En-us-lest.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ḵīfata ʔanna",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "خِيفَةَ أَنَّ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "maḵāfata ʔan",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "مَخَافَةَ أَن"
    },
    {
      "code": "bcl",
      "lang": "Bikol Central",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "harambili"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "ot strah da ne",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "от страх да не"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yǐmiǎn",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "以免"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "ze strachu, že ..."
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "v případě, že ..."
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "uit angst dat"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "pro timo ke"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "+ conditional",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "siltä varalta, että"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "siinä pelossa, että"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "sen pelossa, että"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "ettei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "jottei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "de peur que"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "sans quoi"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "non sexa que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "english": "rata ar",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "რათა არ"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "fürchtend, dass"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "in der Furcht, dass"
    },
    {
      "code": "got",
      "lang": "Gothic",
      "roman": "ibai",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "mḗ",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "μή"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "mḗpote",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "μήποτε"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "pen",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "פֶּן"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "nehogy"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "ar eagla go"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "per paura che"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "shinai yō ni",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "しないように"
    },
    {
      "code": "km",
      "lang": "Khmer",
      "roman": "kraeŋ",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "ក្រែង"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "kei tūpono"
    },
    {
      "code": "ang",
      "lang": "Old English",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "þȳ lǣs"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "ze strachu, że"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "para que"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "a fim de que ... não"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "în caz că"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "из страха"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "что"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "iz straha da ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "da ne bi"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "da ne bi"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "note": "no + subjunctive",
      "sense": "for fear that"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "no vaya a ser que"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "bundan korkarak"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "bojačýsʹ, ščo",
      "sense": "for fear that",
      "word": "боячи́сь, що"
    },
    {
      "code": "bn",
      "lang": "Bengali",
      "roman": "pache",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "পাছে"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "da ne",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "да не"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "za da ne",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "за да не"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "aby ... ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "opdat ... niet"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "ettei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "jottei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "note": "pour que (+ ne ... pas + verb in subj. mood)",
      "sense": "that … not"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "bevor"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "auf dass nicht"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "mḗ",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "μή"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "mḗpote",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "μήποτε"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "nehogy"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "nē"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "kei"
    },
    {
      "code": "ang",
      "lang": "Old English",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "þȳ lǣs"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "żeby nie"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "чтобы не"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ínáče",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "и́на́че"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "da ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "kako ne ..."
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "note": "no + subjunctive",
      "sense": "that … not"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "tags": [
        "literally"
      ],
      "word": "så att inte"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "bunun üzerine değil"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "daha önce"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "abý ... ne",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "аби́ ... не"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ščob ... ne",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "щоб ... не"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ščoby ... ne",
      "sense": "that … not",
      "word": "щоби ... не"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "että (alternatively expressed with a participial phrase)",
      "sense": "that (without the negative particle)"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
      "word": "nē"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
      "word": "care"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ščo",
      "sense": "that (without the negative particle)",
      "word": "що"
    }
  ],
  "word": "lest"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (82c8ff9 and f4967a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.