frightful
- such as to cause fright; dreadful, terrible, or alarming: A frightful howl woke us.
- horrible, shocking, or revolting: The storm did frightful damage.
- Informal. unpleasant; disagreeable: We had a frightful time.
- Informal. very great; extreme: That actor is very talented but a frightful ham.
Origin of frightful
Synonyms for frightful
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for frightful
Related Words for frightful
dreadful, lewd, calamitous, terrible, terrific, unpleasant, ghastly, horrible, awful, shocking, hideous, annoying, bad, disagreeable, extreme, great, insufferable, vile, wicked, wrongExamples from the Web for frightful
Contemporary Examples of frightful
All these frightful trends are already emerging—and they will accelerate every day that the diplomatic wrangling continues.
When the weather outside is frightful, board a plane and head to Florida.
Today, it's worlds away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time.
Historical Examples of frightful
All her thought was how to get him away from the frightful place.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
It was rather a frightful place to go into in search of the source of a shriek.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
There was a frightful grin of triumph twisting his mouth in this minute of punishment.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Down almost to our own day the depredations of wolves were frightful.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
For about five minutes it was the most frightful scene I have ever witnessed.
RidgewayScian Dubh
frightful
- very alarming, distressing, or horrifying
- unpleasant, annoying, or extremea frightful hurry
Word Origin and History for frightful
mid-13c., "timid;" c.1600 "alarming;" from fright + -ful. In common with most -ful adjectives, it once had both an active and passive sense. Meaning "dreadful, horrible, shocking" (often hyperbolic) is attested from c.1700; Johnson noted it as "a cant word among women for anything unpleasing." Related: Frightfully.