1
as in formidable
causing fear
at night the child would always imagine that there were fearsome monsters lurking under his bed
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
after working all afternoon in the hot sun, I had developed a fearsome thirst
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in timid
easily frightened
the more fearsome of the two children would only peer at the guests from a distance
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fearsome
Two years after being bitten by a bat onstage, Taylor Momsen is still fighting off some fearsome critters.
—
Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
The Gophers might have a fearsome foursome of defensive ends going into the 2026 season.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lois is just as fearsome and controlling as ever.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026
Bayern, though, arrive in fearsome form.
—Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
The Gophers might have a fearsome foursome of defensive ends going into the 2026 season.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lois is just as fearsome and controlling as ever.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026
Bayern, though, arrive in fearsome form.
—Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearsome
Adjective
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There's also a perception that squishy invertebrates — creatures without backbones — weren't formidable enough to join the ranks of top predators.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Stretching up to 62 feet long, the ancient predator dwarfed modern giant squid and may have rivaled some of the most formidable hunters of the Cretaceous oceans.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The area that would bear the president’s name has been subject to some of the most intense fighting of the modern age, with tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed in the Donbas over the past few years.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
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What keeps it from feeling too intense or drying for combination skin is the cushion of tea tree leaf water, which helps calm inflammation.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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And also the anticipatory obedience by a lot of these news organizations who are more timid.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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The film follows Colin (Harry Melling), a timid man who is swept off of his feet by Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), an impossibly handsome biker, who takes him on as his submissive.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This isn’t the terrifying Frost of modernist criticism—although the poem is fully aware of darkness, and its world, on the cusp of World War I, like ours, certainly had its terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
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Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.—
Elisabeth Rosenthal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Ganesh’s exit from the show was announced earlier this month, sparking a fierce wave of pushback from fans of the HBO show.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Apr. 2026
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That sum would amount to more than 10 times what President Obama released to Iran under a 2015 nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that was the subject of fierce Republican criticism in the decade since.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This season, Point came back from a scary right knee in January that kept him out of the Olympics.—
Eduardo A. Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
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Josh Rottenberg spoke to Odenkirk, 63, about his recent career revision, notable for following his recovery from a scary heart attack.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Beats that might once have been framed through a hazy, absurdist lens now play as something much more fatalistic and frightening.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Apr. 2026
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Forget about sonic or other frightening devices.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Data centers also have sharp demand spikes driven by computing-intensive tasks, such as training models.—
Mark Chediak,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Tilson Thomas’ New World Symphony, an ensemble and intensive three-year fellowship program for music school graduates to hone their craft, and its home at the New World Center in Miami Beach, are considered to be crown jewels in the Miami area’s art scene.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fearsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearsome. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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