fearful
- causing or apt to cause fear; frightening: a fearful apparition.
- feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude: fearful for his life; fearful lest he commit suicide.
- full of awe or reverence: fearful of the Lord.
- showing or caused by fear: fearful behavior.
- extreme in size, intensity, or badness: a fearful head cold; fearful poverty.
Origin of fearful
Synonyms for fearful
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for fearful
shy, timid, afraid, hesitant, nervous, scared, anxious, uneasy, tense, agitated, jittery, frightened, skittish, panicky, aghast, chicken, diffident, disturbed, fainthearted, intimidatedExamples from the Web for fearful
Contemporary Examples of fearful
This past election, they were hardly mentioned by Republicans fearful of alienating moderates.
Oddly, though, Americans are not fearful enough when it comes to real threats.
At first, the doctors write, the villagers were “fearful and agitated,” lacking the basic necessities needed to survive.
How can we speak to their fears in a way that gets them to understand that there is nothing to be fearful of?
McCarthy, fearful that Lou might fall, had whispered to Dahlgren, “Catch him if he starts to go down.”
Historical Examples of fearful
Has this fearful pestilence no power to restrain the appetites and passions of the people?
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Though the cove was more quiet than the ocean, yet it was fearful enough, even there.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
That fearful alley was no place for human beings; certainly not for these two.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
The sympathy of it stirred the listener to fearful memories.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Your da's death was a fearful blow to her, and she never overed it.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
fearful
- having fear; afraid
- causing fear; frightening
- informal very unpleasant or annoyinga fearful cold