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View synonyms for fearful

fearful

[ feer-fuhl ]

adjective

  1. causing or apt to cause fear; frightening:

    a fearful apparition.

  2. feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude:

    fearful for his life.

    Synonyms: worried, concerned, anxious, solicitous, distrustful, uneasy, apprehensive, timorous, timid, afraid

  3. full of awe or reverence:

    fearful of the Lord.

  4. showing or caused by fear:

    fearful behavior exhibited by dogs in the animal shelter.

  5. extreme in size, intensity, or badness: fearful poverty.

    a fearful head cold;

    fearful poverty.



fearful

/ ˈfɪəfʊl /

adjective

  1. having fear; afraid
  2. causing fear; frightening
  3. informal.
    very unpleasant or annoying

    a fearful cold

“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


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Derived Forms

  • ˈfearfulness, noun
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Other Words From

  • fear·ful·ly adverb
  • fear·ful·ness noun
  • un·fear·ful adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fearful1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ferful(l); fear, -ful
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Example Sentences

He now tries to avoid supermarkets, with the incident leaving him feeling "anxious and fearful".

From BBC

“People are really fearful about what they don’t know,” said Todd Terrazas, co-founder of FBRC.ai.

During the first four years of the Trump presidency, police in L.A. and elsewhere reported decreases in reporting of even serious crimes such as domestic abuse, which some experts saw as a sign that people had become fearful of calling law enforcement.

“When voters are frustrated, when voters are fearful, criminal justice reform is an easy target to exploit that fear and frustration,” she said.

Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump, said many Londoners would feel "anxious" and "fearful" about what the outcome of the election would mean for democracy, women's rights, the Middle East, Ukraine or tackling the climate crisis.

From BBC

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