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 fearfully

He is vividly, fearfully aware of how much worse things might get than the rotten, tottering system he upholds.
Daenerys Goes to Washington: The Modern Politics of ‘Game of Thrones’|Jedediah Purdy|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a world screaming at us to lean in, we fearfully crave the experience of leaning out.
Dave Eggers, Arcade Fire and Other Hipsters Shun the Internet|James Poulos|September 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Equally inevitable, Israel is responding, fearfully, with bullets.
Israel: No Peace in Sight|Leslie H. Gelb|May 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Oh heavens, how beautiful it was—fearfully, awfully tragically beautiful!
The Woman Thou Gavest Me|Hall Caine

"None," she said—not defiantly, or ingratiatingly, or fearfully.
Miss Lulu Bett|Zona Gale
And oh, how fearfully confused were the visions of Mrs. Heartwell's restless sleep!
George Cruikshank's Omnibus|George Cruikshank
Whereat Huymonde was not too greatly or too fearfully moved.
In Kings' Byways|Stanley J. Weyman
You may know the wicked, on the other hand, by their extreme shyness; they crawl out slowly and fearfully; they hang back.
How France Built Her Cathedrals|Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

British Dictionary definitions for fearfully (1 of 2)

fearfully

/ (ˈfɪəfʊlɪ) /

adverb

in a fearful manner

(intensifier)you're fearfully kind

British Dictionary definitions for fearfully (2 of 2)

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