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

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

Examples of frightening in a Sentence

a truly frightening movie

Recent Examples on the Web

Good news California began trying to police ghost guns after those frightening findings came out, enacting legislation in both 2022 and 2023 to curtail their unregulated sales. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025

But the bloodshed that unfolded March 6-10 in Latakia and Tartous represents a frightening escalation. —Chris Massaro, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2025

But some of the messages are frightening and certainly very hurtful. —Alice Park, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025

Welfare benefit assessments are often an onerous and somewhat frightening experience for many with disabilities and so a reduction in the number of these to be endured would be welcome. —Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 19 Mar. 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