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

For 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.

Synonyms

• alarming
• dire
• direful
• dread
• dreadful
• fearful
• fearsome
• forbidding
• formidable
• frightful
• ghastly
• hair-raising
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrifying
• intimidating
• redoubtable
• scary
• shocking
• spine-chilling
• terrible
• terrifying

Examples of frightening in a Sentence

a truly frightening movie

Recent Examples on the Web

The book opens with a flight through a pretty frightening lightning storm. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2024

The void left by the decline of the nation-state is frightening. —Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 5 Oct. 2024

But this month's television releases are not necessarily frightening in the traditional sense. —Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week Us, theweek, 4 Oct. 2024

But when a woman who worked with senior citizens asked if something could be done about people on the block who were frightening her clients, Baraka pushed back. —Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of frighten

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above