frightening
adjective
fright·en·ing
ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈfrīt-niŋ
: causing fear
frightening news
a very frightening experience
The man with red eyes made the frightening grimace that passed for his smile.—
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'EngleFor a man who had tussled with crocs, venomous snakes and other frightening creatures, this was going to be a leisurely swim.—Jennifer Wulff et al.
Jennifer Wulff et al.Examples of frightening in a Sentence
a truly frightening movie
Recent Examples on the Web
And the moment has called, forcing Guy — a man with no passport, and virtually no training in the realm of supernatural defense — to fly from New York to London to investigate a frightening and powerful vampire named Jasper (William Fichtner) who has infiltrated the London motherhouse.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The frightening performance by Carolina (4-4) resulted in a scary stop to their three-game winning streak, which began in Week 5 on Mint Street.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
Given the Frenchman’s frightening form — already up to 18 goals for club and country this season — expect to see Mbappe looking to test the millimetric precision of the Barcelona high line once again.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
The chilling events in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (portrayed by Laura Linney, Campbell Scott, Tom Wilkinson and of course, Jennifer Carpenter in the titular role) are nearly as frightening as the real-life events the film is loosely based on.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightening
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Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The frightening performance by Carolina (4-4) resulted in a scary stop to their three-game winning streak, which began in Week 5 on Mint Street.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
Given the Frenchman’s frightening form — already up to 18 goals for club and country this season — expect to see Mbappe looking to test the millimetric precision of the Barcelona high line once again.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
The chilling events in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (portrayed by Laura Linney, Campbell Scott, Tom Wilkinson and of course, Jennifer Carpenter in the titular role) are nearly as frightening as the real-life events the film is loosely based on.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Cite this Entry
“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frightening. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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