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Synonym Chooser

How is the word fearful different from other adjectives like it?

The words afraid and apprehensive are common synonyms of fearful. While all three words mean "disturbed by fear," fearful implies often a timorous or worrying temperament.

the child is fearful of loud noises

When can afraid be used instead of fearful?

While the synonyms afraid and fearful are close in meaning, afraid often suggests weakness or cowardice and regularly implies inhibition of action or utterance.

afraid to speak the truth

When is it sensible to use apprehensive instead of fearful?

The synonyms apprehensive and fearful are sometimes interchangeable, but apprehensive suggests a state of mind and implies a premonition of evil or danger.

apprehensive of being found out

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fearful These are not the words of a Premier League cheerleader, or indeed of someone fearful that English football will be left behind if La Liga and Serie A get their way. Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025 This hesitancy is common, Travers said, because people may be fearful of being judged or of having their trauma follow them later in life. Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025 Despite being increasingly concerned, the Brobergs waited nearly two weeks to contact authorities, fearful of the public’s reaction to a second disappearance. Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025 Shares of both banks tumbled Thursday, dragging down other lenders along with the broader market, as Wall Street turned fearful about potential threats elsewhere and relived memories of Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion just two years ago. Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fearful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearful
Adjective
  • Kim's direction is bold and stylish, and the supernatural scenes are terrifying, embodying the finest that Korean horror has to offer.
    Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
  • By the time it was all set up, the whole cold, disintegrating place was threaded with lights and lines, flickering everywhere, black and red, the sheer quantity somehow terrifying and embracing at once.
    Blair Braverman, Outside, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Johnson looked timid, unsure against the Warriors, and his shot reflected the lack of confidence.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The students and scholars nurtured in this ancient way will not be timid.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The intense taste and smell can make this tonic hard to stomach.
    Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Part of what spurred intense interest, according to sources, was the success of Weapons, Zach Cregger’s summer horror hit.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • After long mornings at my father’s bedside, my mother and I arrived at Confiserie Sprüngli weary and afraid.
    Aleksandra Crapanzano, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
  • And while Parker wasn’t afraid of no ghosts, what about Huey Lewis’ lawyers?
    Joe Lynch, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Much of the film rests on a razor's edge between funny and frightening, which makes its twists and turns all the more surprising.
    Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
  • In the premiere’s early minutes, a young woman on a mission falls prey to a vampire and his frightening creatures known as revenants, sparking Helen’s decision to bring Guy into the fold.
    Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For The Golden Bachelor star Mel Owens, riding a horse during his one-on-one date with Cindy was a little scary.
    Kristen Baldwin, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
  • As one of Stephen King‘s scariest pieces of IP gets the HBO Max series treatment, the bloodbath has commenced with the first episode.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Gómez took the 5-day trip to Mexico City as a brief respite before starting intensive training to care for Noah at his home in New York City.
    Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
  • And the side hustle is time-intensive.
    Megan Sauer, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Japanese had cyclotrons but no nuclear lobby driven by frightened, concerned, or ambitious scientists.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Her parents were opposed to the Russian occupation but too frightened to talk about it.
    Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fearful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearful. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fearful

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