fearful

[feer-fuhl]

adjective

1. causing or apt to cause fear; frightening.

   a fearful apparition.

2. feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude.

   fearful for his life.

   Synonyms: worried, concerned, anxious, solicitous, distrustful, uneasy, apprehensive, timorous, timid, afraid

3. full of awe or reverence.

   fearful of the Lord.

4. showing or caused by fear.

   fearful behavior exhibited by dogs in the animal shelter.

5. extreme in size, intensity, or badness: fearful poverty.

   a fearful head cold;

   fearful poverty.

fearful

/ ˈfɪəfʊl /

adjective

1. having fear; afraid

2. causing fear; frightening

3. informal,  very unpleasant or annoying

   a fearful cold

Other Word Forms

• fearfulness noun
• fearfully adverb
• unfearful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fearful¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ferful(l); fear, -ful

Example Sentences

She remains fearful of how the crackdown will impact her community's economy.

Read more on Barron's

When he didn’t reply to texts, the family of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs went from worried to fearful.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Many coastal residents of Mindanao island had slept outdoors, fearful of being crushed to death by aftershocks of the 7.4- and 6.7-magnitude quakes that struck off the coast within hours of each other on Friday.

Read more on Barron's

“But,” she added, “I’m very fearful that we are headed towards a less inclusive, less diverse and more segregated public school setting.”

Read more on Salon

Some were "more fearful, concerned about what use is permissible and worried that teachers will accuse them of cheating if they do use it".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• afraid 
• agitated 
• anxious 
• frightened 
• hesitant 
• jittery 
• nervous 
• panicky www.thesaurus.com
• scared 
• shy 
• skittish 
• tense 
• timid 
• uneasy