Lewis & Short

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mĕtŭo, ŭi, ūtum (cf.: nimis ante metutum, Lucr. 5, 1140), 3, v. a. and n. [metus], to fear, be afraid of a person or thing; to hesitate, not to venture, not to wish (syn.: vereor, formido, timeo); with inf., with ne, to fear lest; with ui or ne non, to fear that not; also of inanimate things, with acc., to fear, revere, reverence one; as a v. n., to fear, be afraid, be in fear, be apprehensive, esp. as the effect of the idea of threatening evil (whereas timere usually denotes the effect of some external cause of terror); to dread, apprehend; with an indirect interrogation: non metuo quin, for non dubito quin, I doubt not but; to be anxious about any one; with dat. (class.).

  1. I. Act.: quem metuont oderunt, Enn. ap. Cic. Off. 2, 7, 23 (Trag. v. 403 Vahl.): deos et amo et metuo, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 73: male ego metuo milvos, id. ib. 5, 5, 13: metuebant (senem) servi, verebantur liberi, Cic. Sen. 11, 37: tu, qui crimen ais te metuisse, id. Verr. 2, 5, 30, § 78: nec pol istae metuunt Deos, Ter. Hec. 5, 2, 6: absentem patrem, id. Phorm. 1, 2, 68: nec metuit quemquam, id. Ad. 1, 2, 5.
    With ab: quid a nobis metuit? Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 12: a me insidias, Cic. Fam. 5, 6, 2: supplicia a vobis metuere debent, to fear from you, id. Rosc. Am. 3, 8: a quo (Ajace) sibi non injuriā summum periculum metuebat, Auct. Her. 2, 19, 29: a quo domino sibi metuebat graves cruciatus, Aug. Lib. Arbitr. 1, 4, 9; Gregor. M. Homil. 1, 14, 2; Aug. cont. Acad. 2, 8.
    With ex: si periculum ex illis metuit, Sall. C. 52, 16.
    With de: de lanificio neminem metuo, una aetate quae sit, i. e. no one’s competition in spinning, Plaut. Merc. 3, 1, 22.
    Of inanim. subjects: quae res cotidie videntur, minus metuunt furem, Varr. R. R. 1, 22.
          1. (β) With inf.: metuont credere omnes, Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 70: ut tentare spem certaminis metuunt, Liv. 32, 31: nil metuunt jurare, Cat. 64, 146: reddere soldum, not to wish, be averse to, Hor. S. 2, 5, 65: praebere, id. Ep. 1, 18, 1.
            Of nonpersonal subjects: illum aget pennā metuente solvi Fama superstes, Hor. C. 2, 2, 7.
          2. (γ) With ne: nimis metuebam male, ne abiisses, Plaut. Ps. 4, 1, 8: male metuo ne … morbus aggravescat, Ter. Hec. 3, 2, 2: fratrem, ne intus sit (Gr. construction), id. Eun. 3, 5, 62.
          3. (δ) With ut: ornamenta, quae locavi, metuo, ut possim recipere, Plaut. Curc. 4, 1, 3: metuo ut hodie possim emolirier, id. Bacch. 4, 5, 2: metuo ut substet hospes, Ter. And. 5, 4, 11: ut sis vitalis, Hor. S. 2, 1, 61.
            (ε) With ne non: metuo ne non sit surda, Plaut. Cas. 3, 3, 12; id. Pers. 4, 6, 4: metuis ne non, quom velis, convincas esse illum tuom? Ter. Heaut. 5, 3, 15.
            (ξ) With quin: non metuo meae quin uxori latae suppetiae sient, Plaut. Am. 5, 1, 54.
            (η) With object-clause, to await with fear, anxiety; to be in apprehension, concerned about: metuo, patres quot fuerint, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 35: metui, quid futurum denique esset, I dreaded, awaited with fear, Ter. Heaut. 3, 3, 8: metuo quid agam. Sy. Metuis? quasi non ea potestas sit tua, etc., id. ib. 4, 3, 42: metuo qualem tu me esse hominem existumes, id. Eun. 4, 6, 20.
            (θ) Pass. with dat.: jam maturis metuendus Juppiter uvis, Verg. G. 2, 419.
            (ι) Absol.: se e contempto metuendum fecit, Sall. H. 1, 48, 3.
    1. B. (Eccl. Lat.) Of religious fear, to revere, dread, hold in reverence: Deum, Vulg. Lev. 25, 43: Dominum Deum nostrum, id. Jer. 5, 24: sanctuarium meum, id. Lev. 19, 30.
  2. II. Neutr., to fear, be afraid, be apprehensive, etc.
          1. (α) With de: neque tam de suā vitā, quam de me metuit, fears not so much for his own life as for me, Cic. Att. 10, 4, 6.
          2. (β) With ab: metuens ab Hannibale, afraid of Hannibal, Liv. 23, 36.
          3. (γ) With pro: metuere pro aliquo, Petr. 123.
          4. (δ) With dat., to be anxious about or for a person or thing: metuens pueris, Plaut. Am. 5, 1, 60: inopi metuens formica senectae, Verg. G. 1, 186: tum decuit metuisse tuis, id. A. 10, 94.
            Hence, mĕtŭens, entis, P. a., fearing, afraid of any thing; anxious for any person or thing; with gen. or absol. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose): contentus parvo metuensque futuri, Hor. S. 2, 2, 110: metuens virgae, Juv. 7, 210.
            Comp.: quo non metuentius ullum Numinis ingenium, Ov. F. 6, 259: Nero metuentior in posterum, Tac. A. 13, 25.

mĕtus, ūs, m. (fem.: nulla in me est metus, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 123 Müll.: metus ulla, id. ap. Non. 214, 11; cf. Ann. v. 537, and Trag. v. 179 Vahl.; dat. metu, Tac. A. 11, 32; 15, 69), fear, dread, apprehension, anxiety; constr. with gen. object., with ne, with acc. and inf.

  1. I. Lit.: est metus futurae aegritudinis sollicita exspectatio, Cic. Tusc. 5, 18, 52; cf. id. ib. 4, 30, 64: metum excitari vel propriis vel communibus periculis, Mart. Cap. 5, § 505: in metu esse, to be in fear, be fearful, Cic. Cat. 1, 7, 18: est et in metu peregrinantium, ut, etc., they are also afraid, Plin. 31, 6, 37, § 71: mihi etiam unum de malis in metu est, fratris miseri negotium, a subject of fear, Cic. Att. 3, 9, 3: metum habere, to entertain fear, be afraid, id. Fam. 8, 10, 1: metum concipere, to become afraid, Ov. F. 1, 485: capere, Liv. 33, 27: accipere, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 96: metum facere alicui, to make afraid, put in fear, frighten, Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 28: metum inicere, Caes. B. G. 4, 19: incutere, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 4, 2: inferre, Liv. 26, 20: affere, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 54, § 135: offerre, id. Fam. 15, 1, 5: obicere, id. Tusc. 2, 4, 10: intentare, Tac. A. 15, 54: metu territare, to alarm greatly, fill with fear, Caes. B. G. 5, 6: metum pati, Quint. 6, 2, 21: alicui adimere, to take away, remove, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 100: metu exonerare, to relieve from fear, Liv. 2, 2: removere metum, to take away, remove, id. ib.: levare alicui, Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 59: alicui deicere, id. Verr. 2, 5, 49, § 130: solvere, to remove, dismiss, Verg. A. 1, 463: civitati metum, formidinem oblivionem inicere, Ser. Samm. ap. Macr. S. 3, 9, 7: metu et impressione alicujus terroris mentiri, Paul. Sent. 5, 1, 4: metu mortis furem occidere, Mos. et Rom. Leg. Coll. 7, 3, 3: quis metus aut pudor est umquam properantis avari? Juv. 14, 178: reddere metu, non moribus, id. 13, 204.
    Poet. in plur., Hor. C. 1, 26, 1.
          1. (β) With gen. object.: vulnerum metus, Cic. Tusc. 2, 24, 59: ne reliquos populares metus invaderet parendi sibi, Sall. J. 35, 9: id bellum excitabat metus Pompei victoris Hiempsalem in regnum restituentis, Sall. H. 1, 39; v. Gell. 9, 2, 14; Non. p. 96: propter metum alicujus, for fear of: Judaeorum, Vulg. Johan. 7, 13; 19, 38.
          2. (γ) With ne: quod ubi Romam est nuntiatum, senatui metum injecit, ne, etc., Liv. 5, 7, 4: ne lassescat fortuna, metus est, Plin. 7, 40, 41, § 130.
          3. (δ) With acc. and inf.: quantus metus est mihi, venire huc salvum nunc patruum! Ter. Phorm. 3, 1, 18.
            (ε) With ab: metus a praetore Romano, Liv. 2, 24, 3; 23, 15, 7; 25, 33, 5; cf.: metus poenae a Romanis, id. 32, 23, 9; 45, 26, 7.
            (ζ) With pro: metus pro universā republicā, Liv. 2, 24, 4.
            (η) With ex: metus ex imperatore, Tac. A. 11, 20.
    1. B. Poet., religious awe, holy dread: laurus Sacra comam multosque metu servata per annos, Verg. A. 7, 60.
      Poetic awe: evoe! recenti mens trepidat metu, Hor. C. 2, 19, 5.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. Conor., a cause of fear, a terror (poet.): metus Libyci, i. e. the head of Medusa, Stat. Th. 12, 606: nulli nocte metus, alarms, Juv. 3, 198.
    2. B. Personified: Mĕtus, the god of fear or terror, Cic. N. D. 3, 17, 44; Verg. G. 3, 552; id. A. 6, 276.