Word Finder - lest

definition

For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case.

example

He won’t go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.

synonyms

• before

definition

(after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension) that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)

example

I am afraid lest I revealed too much.

They feared to spare him lest he should report the matter to the king.

She could not keep back her tears, and the chief cause of her pain seemed to be the fear lest people should doubt her truthfulness.

He ached to know how Rissa was but feared even sending a page, lest Memon's men grow suspicious.

For the moment Germany was to hold aloof lest any active initiative on her part should displease the Vatican, of whose help Bismarck stood in need.

She is ordered to stay at home for three months, lest she suffer a relapse.

I won't say more, lest this communication is compromised.

Place four guards with her, lest she or one of her people try to free her.

For a time, however, he stayed his hand, but the urgent solicitations of the western powers, and, above all, his fear lest Gustavus Adolphus should supplant him as the champion of the Protestant cause, finally led him to plunge into war against the combined forces of the emperor and the League, without any adequate guarantees of co-operation from abroad.

Natasha asked quickly in a whisper, afraid to move lest she should rouse the dozing baby.

She lived henceforth in fear lest Louis should have a son; and in consequence there was a secret rivalry between her and the queen, Anne of Brittany.

The last key performance was the lone piper playing the haunting Lest We Forget.

But you have to balance the amount of time you work, lest you look too tired and lose Charm points.

But it must be kept within limits, lest it should of itself cause death, and here again we see the difference between empirical and rational medicine.

She had decided to receive them, but feared lest the prince might at any moment indulge in some freak, as he seemed much upset by the Rostovs' visit.

Wouldst thou say to the seasons, " Pass not on, lest I grow old "?

Lest you fret, be assured secondhand does not mean shabby.

When you do visit, make sure to take an official tour or use a guide lest you run into any unfriendly spirits that wish you harm.

The mother, fearful lest her son should share his father's fate, flies to the woods, either alone with one attendant, or with a small body of faithful retainers, and there brings up her son in ignorance of his name, his parentage and all knightly accomplishments.

Note that they must be honest in their thinking -- lest they become new age universalists, or some such.

Kids must be able to read the words before them relatively fluently lest they forget what they are reading!

The young Hobbit wants nothing more than to live in the Shire and enjoy his life, but to protect his people and his friends, he accepts Gandalf's charge to carry the Ring away, lest the Enemy destroy the Shire for it.

Wings, short fur, fangs the size of her forearm … she moved farther into the bathroom, lest she draw his attention.

The carboncontent of steel is rarely greater than this, lest the brittleness be excessive.

They do not dare to be free lest the spirit of liberty become contagious.

Do not kindle the coals of a sinner, lest you be burned in his flaming fire.

However at the current year-end of March 2001 the old rules still mean you need to be fully spent lest you lose the balance.

The object, however, here is, Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

If in this confession he to some extent tampered with his conscience, there is every reason to believe that his culpable timidity was occasioned, not by personal fear, but by anxiety lest by his death he should hinder instead of promoting the cause of truth.

The process exhibited several disadvantages, the electrolyte had to be kept constant in composition lest either fluorine vapours should be evolved or sodium thrown down, and the raw materials had accordingly to be prepared in a pure state.

Gradually, however, he was made uneasy by the obvious trend of the imperial policy towards the annihilation of Protestantism, and by a dread lest the ecclesiastical lands should be taken from him; and the issue of the edict of restitution in March 1629 put the coping-stone to his fears.

In making very low-carbon steel this recarburizing proper is not needed; but in any event a considerable quantity of manganese must be added unless the pig iron initially contains much of that metal, in order to remove from the molten steel the oxygen which it has absorbed from the; blast, lest this make it redshort.

The oxidation of the foreign elements must be very slow, lest the effervescence due to the escape of carbonic oxide from the carbon of the metal throw the charge out of the doors and ports of the furnace, which itself must be shallow in order to hold the flame down close to the charge.

That for the thin-walled water mains must combine strength with the fluidity needed to enable it to run freely into its narrow moulds; that for most machinery must be soft enough to be cut easily to an exact shape; that for hydraulic cylinders must combine strength with density lest the water leak through; and that for car-wheels must be intensely hard in its wearing parts, but in its other parts it must have that shock-resisting power which can be had only along with great softness.

The governor, supported by the great families, retained the same House of Burgesses for sixteen years lest a new one might not be submissive.

According to ancient authorities, she was a goddess who relieved men from pain and sorrow, or delivered the Romans and their flocks from angina (quinsy); or she was the protecting goddess of Rome and the keeper of the sacred name of the city, which might not be pronounced lest it should be revealed to her enemies; it was even thought that Angerona itself was this name.

Federation was supposed to afford protection to the smaller communities--Natal and the Orange River Colony - and in Natal there was much anxiety lest its interests should be overborne.

Army, which had taken part in the siege of Adrianople, was extricated as rapidly as possible lest it be isolated and disarmed in the territory of its allies.

Shortly after (376), the elder Theodosius was put to death by order of Valens, probably through fear lest he should be the Theodosius or Theodore whom a magician had indicated as the future emperor.

Feeling that he was dying, and careful lest Chunda should be reproached by himself or others, he said to Ananda, "After I am gone tell Chunda that he will receive in a future birth very great reward; for, having eaten of the food he gave me, I am about to die; and if he should still doubt, say that it was from my own mouth that you heard this.

At once a large section of Unionists, especially in Unionist Lancashire, became alarmed lest their electoral chances should be jeopardized by the prospect of food taxes imposed without reference to the people.

In laying off receiving drains it is essential to give hedgerows and trees a good offing, lest the conduit be obstructed by the roots.

Brimstone is easily burned without any extraneous help; indeed the only precaution required is to take care lest the heat produced by the burning sulphur should not volatilize part of it in the unburned state.

Baptism and extreme unction only were continued, lest souls should be lost; and marriages were permitted but not inside the walls of churches.

This had been the essential part of the bargain, and Henry was ready to carry it out, but he insisted that he should first be recognized as king in his own right, lest it might be held that he ruled merely as his destined wifes consort.

In 1612 Gustavus Adolphus caused the inhabitants to destroy their town lest it should fall into the hands of the Danes; but it was rebuilt soon after, and in 1620 received special privileges from the king.

Their food must be purchased with money lawfully acquired; and lest they should unwittingly partake of any that is ceremonially unclean, they require those Jahels, whose hospitality they share, to supply their wants from a store set apart for their exclusive use.

He also underwent much anxiety lest the efforts of Thiers to bring about an interference by the neutral powers might be successful.

Here he says plainly that it was the fear lest the emperor should acquire the Baltic ports and proceed to build up a sea-power dangerous to Scandinavia.

From the very day of Clement's coronation the king had charged the Templars with heresy, immorality and abuses, and the scruples of the weak pope were at length overcome by apprehension lest the State should not wait for the Church, but should proceed independently against the alleged heretics, as well as by the royal threats of pressing the accusation of heresy against the late Boniface VIII.