How do I stop being afraid to ask questions at work?

You stay quiet because a question might reveal a gap in what you think you should already know. So you protect the image of someone who has it all handled, and you sit in your confusion instead. Then you make mistakes a single question would have prevented. The silence costs more than the question ever would. Look at the trade honestly. To avoid a few seconds of looking uncertain, you accept hours of guessing and the errors that follow. That is a bad bargain. And the people you are trying to impress rarely think less of someone who asks a sharp question. More often they trust them more, because it shows they care about getting it right. Start with one small question this week, asked plainly, without apology. Watch what actually happens. Nobody's opinion collapses. The confusion clears. You will learn that the flawless image you were guarding was costing you the very competence it was meant to signal. Ask, and let the fear shrink from use.