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

In late July, his 3-year-old son, Max, was temporarily paralyzed by a frightening case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, forcing Freeman to step away from the team for eight games. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024

All of the frightening moments have to come from a very real place, and have to come from people's relationships with the characters. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Sep. 2024

Peter was a fantastic hero, leukemia a frightening foe. —Delia Ephron, Vogue, 26 Sep. 2024

Yet going forward, the husband keeps performing stranger and stranger actions while unconscious, remembering none afterward: Furiously scratching his skin, eating raw meat from the fridge, frightening the dog. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of frighten

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above