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
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Recent Examples of frightening
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 4 July 2025
Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill star Michael Madsen, who died Thursday, once said that some of his characters were too frightening for their own good.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
That’s frightening, but more frightening still were the responses from Winter Garden locals who seemingly prize their own comfort over their fellow citizens’ constitutional rights.
—Daniel McGowan, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.
—Sarah Weinman, The Atlantic, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Adjective
Not the terrifying or the scary or frightening, the horrifying.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 4 July 2025
Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill star Michael Madsen, who died Thursday, once said that some of his characters were too frightening for their own good.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
That’s frightening, but more frightening still were the responses from Winter Garden locals who seemingly prize their own comfort over their fellow citizens’ constitutional rights.
—Daniel McGowan, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.
—Sarah Weinman, The Atlantic, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightening
Adjective
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When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
1 July 2025
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The terrifying moment that passengers were made to put on oxygen masks was captured on video.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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The 24-year-old is only going to get better, and that's a scary thing for the league.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
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This was in the days when only lunatics or scary white punks had shaved heads.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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In short, because the Ukrainians have put up a formidable defense.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
9 July 2025
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Williams, 62, previously headed Apple's formidable operations division, which is in charge of manufacturing millions of complicated devices like iPhones, while keeping costs down.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Jung-bae wound up in a room of three, with Player 001 and some rando — but Player 001 choked the stranger to death in time to reduce their head count, shocking Jung-bae more than a bit.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
26 Dec. 2024
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Fox News Digital obtained shocking audio between Cyrus and his estranged wife where the country crooner is heard berating his Australian ex and using profane language.—
Ashley Hume,
Fox News,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
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If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Vegas bounced back from a terrible loss to the Fever with an 86-68 win over the Sun on Sunday.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
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And because of that, it’s shielded us from the terrible things that happen downstream in the supply chain.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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The foundations themselves are also focused on education to make clinical trials less intimidating.—
Alexis Kayser,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 June 2025
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Catcher Caden Bodine, a top-round prospect, leads Coastal Carolina’s balanced and intimidating lineup.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightening. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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