fearful
Americanadjective
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causing or apt to cause fear; frightening.
a fearful apparition.
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feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude.
fearful for his life.
- Synonyms:
- worried, concerned, anxious, solicitous, distrustful, uneasy, apprehensive, timorous, timid, afraid
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full of awe or reverence.
fearful of the Lord.
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showing or caused by fear.
fearful behavior exhibited by dogs in the animal shelter.
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extreme in size, intensity, or badness: fearful poverty.
a fearful head cold;
fearful poverty.
adjective
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having fear; afraid
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causing fear; frightening
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informal very unpleasant or annoying
a fearful cold
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fearful
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ferful(l); see origin at fear, -ful
Explanation
If you're fearful, you're afraid of something. A kid who's fearful around dogs might cry or run away when sees even a small puppy. To be fearful is, literally, to be full of fear. You can also use this adjective to describe the thing that scares you: "I lay awake all night listening to the fearful creaks of the old house around me." Some people are always fearful — it's just part of who they are — while others are only fearful in certain instances. You might be fearful on airplanes but fearless when riding a horse.
Vocabulary lists containing fearful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fearful she might accidentally break a dish, Ms. Gulati had not removed the dinner service from her attic in years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
Fearful about the possible transfer of military-grade technology, Mr Black resigned.
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025
Fearful, even as a resident with legal status, he ran behind bags of dirt in the parking lot with others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025
Fearful of losing the baby, she was cautious in the early days of the pregnancy, but she sang some performances in mid-2021.
From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2023
Fearful things: bonesaws, abdomen retractor, trocar and trepan.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
