as in terrifying
causing fear
a truly frightening movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scaring
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frightening
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
The possibility is frightening.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Adjective
While the near-miss was frightening, what stood out most was Alejandro’s unexpected response.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
The possibility is frightening.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightening
Adjective
-
Some of his acts are dangerous or terrifying.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
-
In 1972, Ann-Margret fell 22 feet from a stage during a performance — a terrifying moment that could have ended her career.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And with it almost out in the world, that’s scaring him a little bit.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
-
During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The conditions in Domiz are not scary as a sign of what the future might be like for everyone.—
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei,
ARTnews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
While weaponizing hate has been around almost as long as humanity itself, this new version is particularly scary because the checks and balances that were put into place in previous generations have been removed.—
Steven Burg,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Some cyclists sped by pretty quickly, startling us and our dog.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In my view, the key obstacle to creating future generations of nonsmokers is that people do not fully understand how dangerous smoking is and do not realize the formidable influence of the tobacco industry.—
Marie Helweg-Larsen,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
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Motivated Mars activates your 6th House of Well-being as of today, motivating you to reconfigure routines and direct your formidable focus toward the tasks that truly count.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Continue reading … CRUSHED DREAMS — Tiger Woods was 'hoping to' play in Masters before shocking DUI arrest, bodycam footage shows.—
,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Having two daughters diagnosed with breast cancer is shocking enough; now there was a third.—
Jessica Keller,
Glamour,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Zack James’ shifty drumming hammers out a drum ’n’ bass redux like a panicked heartbeat while Carney Hemler’s bass lurches in slow motion, replicating the gut drop of a horrible realization.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
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Fendelman captured that horrible silence in the doc, punctuated by Littlejohn’s niece screaming, feral and raw.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At that point, something terrible, something on the scale of the Maidan protests in Ukraine in 2014, is not inconceivable.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Between some horrendous screw-ups, terrible decision-making, and some plain old bad luck, their situation, and that of their mother, Linda Morelli (Laurie Metcalf), who is running for mayor, only gets worse.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightening. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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