fearful
Americanadjective
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causing or apt to cause fear; frightening.
a fearful apparition.
-
feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude.
fearful for his life.
- Synonyms:
- worried, concerned, anxious, solicitous, distrustful, uneasy, apprehensive, timorous, timid, afraid
-
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.
We’re less innocent, but we’ve become more brittle and more fearful.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Police are already increasing security around Jewish areas to protect communities who have faced multiple attacks this year and are fearful of more.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
In Venice with Kopple was Antonio Rosario, a Teamster for 31 years seen throughout the film trying to educate often fearful or reluctant workers about their rights.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
It’s clearly growing fearful that a combination of factors—chronically weak productivity growth, a surge in investment linked to artificial intelligence data centers, and the unresolved Middle East conflict—will spur another surge in prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The great strides of the pursuers brought them closer, so close that in a fearful backward glance Taran saw one of them, teeth bared in a snarl, reach out to clutch the stirrups of Lluagor.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
