fearsome

adjective

fear·​some ˈfir-səm 

1

a

: causing fear

a fearsome monster

b

: intense, extreme

fearsome determination

2

: timid, timorous

fearsomely adverb

fearsomeness noun

Synonyms of fearsome

• formidable
• terrifying
• frightening
• scary
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating

Examples of fearsome in a Sentence

at night the child would always imagine that there were fearsome monsters lurking under his bed

after working all afternoon in the hot sun, I had developed a fearsome thirst

Recent Examples on the Web

Miguel Cotto and Pacquiao, who had a fearsome lead hook from the southpaw stance, are two of them. — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

With his day-old stubble and the tough-guy bearing of someone who has spent decades portraying fearsome characters like Ray Donovan and the X-Men’s Sabretooth, Liev Schreiber doesn’t look like a man who is afraid of anything. — Ingrid Abramovitch, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2026

Her fearsome paradisical pieces have been flung like seed across the continents in an informal way. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

The film fails to convey the fearsome, inexplicable beauty that Herzog clearly sees (or perhaps once saw) in this story. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

fear entry 1 + -some entry 1

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

fearsome

adjective

fear·​some ˈfi(ə)r-səm 

1

: causing fear

2

: timid

fearsomely adverb

fearsomeness noun