English · Proverb Attested

a burnt child dreads the fire

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Also seen as: the burnt child dreads the fire · the burnt child fears the fire

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A person harmed by something becomes more cautious about it.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Người bị tổn thương bởi một thứ gì đó sẽ trở nên cẩn thận hơn với nó

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

The Continental insurance company has instructed its agents not to use Rubber Stamps to affix their signatures to policies, renewals, etc., because “Rubber Stamps are easily duplicated, at small expense, even in the case of fac-similes of signatures, and forgery and fraud are facilitated by their us

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Alternative form of a burnt child dreads the fire.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Dạng thay thế của một cụm từ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Topics: Fire Children Dated

Common questions

What does “a burnt child dreads the fire” mean?

A person harmed by something becomes more cautious about it.

Is “a burnt child dreads the fire” formal or informal?

a burnt child dreads the fire is generally dated.

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