fearful

[ feer-fuhl ]

/ ˈfɪər fəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR fearful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Words nearby fearful

fe., feal, fealty, fear, feared, fearful, fearfully, fearless, fearnought, fearsome, feasance

Origin of fearful

First recorded in 1300–50, fearful is from the Middle English word ferful. See fear, -ful

SYNONYMS FOR fearful

2 afraid, timid, timorous, apprehensive, uneasy, distrustful; solicitous, anxious, concerned, worried.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR fearful ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM fearful

fear·ful·ly, adverbfear·ful·ness, nouno·ver·fear·ful, adjectiveo·ver·fear·ful·ly, adverb

o·ver·fear·ful·ness, nounpre·fear·ful, adjectivepre·fear·ful·ly, adverbun·fear·ful, adjectiveun·fear·ful·ly, adverbun·fear·ful·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fearful

fearful fearsome

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for fearful

This past election, they were hardly mentioned by Republicans fearful of alienating moderates.
It Gets Better—but Mostly if You Live in a Rich, Democratic Country|Jay Michaelson|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Oddly, though, Americans are not fearful enough when it comes to real threats.
Ebola, ISIS, the Border: So Much to Fear, So Little Time!|Gene Robinson|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At first, the doctors write, the villagers were “fearful and agitated,” lacking the basic necessities needed to survive.
1976 Vs. Today: Ebola’s Terrifying Evolution|Abby Haglage|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How can we speak to their fears in a way that gets them to understand that there is nothing to be fearful of?
Even After Hobby Lobby, the Religious Right is Still Terrified|Gene Robinson|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

McCarthy, fearful that Lou might fall, had whispered to Dahlgren, “Catch him if he starts to go down.”
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address|Ray Robinson|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, happily, this fearful art exists no more to tempt and destroy?
Lucretia, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Fearful that if he put his arms round her, he would feel me, Kathleen raised herself, and allowed him to embrace her.
Japhet in Search of a Father|Frederick Marryat
This is the reason why all men are fearful; why the whole human race are diffident.
The System of Nature, Volume 2|Paul Henri Thiery (Baron D'Holbach)
Not a minute had elapsed, such were the fearful powers of this old woman.
Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official|William Sleeman
I see it as a fearful thing, towering, expanding, upheld by the toil and the agony of millions.
The Journal of Arthur Stirling|Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for fearful

fearful

/ (ˈfɪəfʊl) /

adjective

having fear; afraid

causing fear; frightening

informal very unpleasant or annoyinga fearful cold

Derived forms of fearful

fearfulness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fearful

adjective

Words related to fearful

Words nearby fearful

Origin of fearful

SYNONYMS FOR fearful

OTHER WORDS FROM fearful

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fearful

Examples from the Web for fearful

British Dictionary definitions for fearful

adjective

Derived forms of fearful