frightening

adjective

fright·​en·​ing ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈfrīt-niŋ

: causing fear

frightening news

a very frightening experience

The man with red eyes made the frightening grimace that passed for his smile.

—Madeleine L'Engle

For a man who had tussled with crocs, venomous snakes and other frightening creatures, this was going to be a leisurely swim.

—Jennifer Wulff et al.

Synonyms

• terrifying
• scary
• formidable
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating

Examples of frightening in a Sentence

a truly frightening movie

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening. —Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025

His stepmother, Aubrey Fong, said that the teenager had the same idea as Tracy: Both usually took a longer bus route to avoid the frightening overpass. —Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 17 June 2025

Furthermore, each is attempting to do this at what is, unambiguously, a frightening new chapter in the era of property crime. —Freddy Kuo, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of frighten

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frightening

• brightening
• heightening
• lightening
• tightening
• whitening
• enlightening