Hmmm? RATIONAL fear; oxymoron. Fear is an non-rational response to an immediate condition which is perceived as having the potential to cause harm to one's self or their company. Better terms for long ranged fear are: dread, anxiety, angst, worry, fret, and so on. If we were to make this distinction, fear and fright would only represent an animal response to a given situation. Psychology would be left to question the validity of whether one's longer ranged prospects were of a rational nature.

My biggest dread is that of getting buttonholed by some incredible bore who goes on endlessly about hairsplitting definitions of words and such. Brrrr! ;-) [thanks for the emotie LH!]