afraid to say

phrase

variants or sorry to say or regret to say
—used as a way of expressing one's disappointment, regret, or sorrow
Most of us worked very hard, but she, I'm afraid to say, did no work at all.

Examples of afraid to say in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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There was some uneasy laughter, and then, what everyone else was too afraid to say came from the only person who could. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 Don’t be afraid to say yes to the plan that’s slightly outside your usual scene. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026 There’s no yellow; Bozeman says ‘yellow’ is usually really a red but the manager is afraid to say so. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 14 July 2026 Ashley’s dad doesn’t trust that Alex is being honest with his answers and isn’t afraid to say so. — Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 18 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for afraid to say

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Cite this Entry

“Afraid to say.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afraid%20to%20say. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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