frightening

1 of 2

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.

frightening

2 of 2

present participle of frighten

Synonyms of frightening

Adjective

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

Examples of frightening in a Sentence

Adjective

a truly frightening movie

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Mary Poppins of the novels is often noted for being more mysterious, mercurial and dangerous than her film incarnation, and the adventures in the books are magical, surreal and sometimes frightening. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026

Thank God nothing frightening has ever happened in my home city of LA. — Emma Specter, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

Squeezing the wildly complicated life of a truly frightening figure who wanted to dismantle industrial society into a streaming-ready origin story is ironic enough. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026

Some say the public backlash to AI, and OpenAI, is partly because messaging from the leading labs can be esoteric, rather than grounded in the day-to-day benefits of AI, and in some cases, downright frightening. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from present participle of frighten

First Known Use

Adjective

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frightening

• brightening
• heightening
• lightening
• tightening
• whitening
• enlightening