put the fear of God into

verb

To cause someone to repent through fear of the wrath of God.

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Meanings

verbput the fear of God into (third-person singular simple present puts the fear of God into, present participle putting the fear of God into, simple past and past participle put the fear of God into)

present singular third person puts the fear of God into · participle present putting the fear of God into · alternative rub the fear of God into

  1. To cause someone to repent through fear of the wrath of God.
  2. idiomaticTo cause someone to fear abjectly in other contexts; to terrify completely.

    It was the ‘minnie-woffers’ which put the fear of God into them.

    1915 August, Red Feather, 86/1
  3. idiomaticTo cause someone to obey through fear in other contexts; to terrify into submission.

    Well, I'll continue to put the fear of God into the troops for as long as I can... but there comes a time... We're nowhere near it yet, of course...

    1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
rue

Translations

German das Fürchten lehren, in Angst und Schrecken versetzen
  • das Fürchten lehrenput the fear of God into
  • in Angst und Schrecken versetzenput the fear of God into
Cite this entry
APA

put the fear of God into. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20fear%20of%20God%20into

MLA

“put the fear of God into.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20fear%20of%20God%20into. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put the fear of God into,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20fear%20of%20God%20into.

Source: put the fear of God into on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.