fearsome

adjective

fear·​some ˈfir-səm 

1

a

: causing fear

a fearsome monster

b

: intense, extreme

fearsome determination

2

: timid, timorous

fearsomely adverb

fearsomeness noun

Synonyms

• alarming
• dire
• direful
• dread
• dreadful
• fearful
• forbidding
• formidable
• frightening
• frightful
• ghastly
• hair-raising
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrifying
• intimidating
• redoubtable
• scary
• shocking
• spine-chilling
• terrible
• terrifying

Examples of fearsome in a Sentence

at night the child would always imagine that there were fearsome monsters lurking under his bed

after working all afternoon in the hot sun, I had developed a fearsome thirst

Recent Examples on the Web

As shown in the new trailer, Atsu will have to do just that, facing off with fearsome foes while traveling through both lush blue fields of flowers and rocky, mountainous terrain. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025

In the Cretaceous forests of ancient Madagascar, one frog earned its fearsome name the hard way. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Cleveland: Abdul Carter, Edge rusher, Penn State Carter, perhaps the best player in the draft, and Myles Garrett would make a fearsome pair of bookend pass rushers. —Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2025

As the cool new kid in town, his Tommy Oliver was transformed into one of the core team of rangers' (Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Austin St. John, Walter Emanuel Jones, and Thuy Trang) primary adversaries: the fearsome Green Ranger. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 6 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

fear entry 1 + -some entry 1

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

fearsome

adjective

fear·​some ˈfi(ə)r-səm 

1

: causing fear

2

: timid

fearsomely adverb

fearsomeness noun