1
as in formidable
causing fear
at night the child would always imagine that there were fearsome monsters lurking under his bed
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2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
after working all afternoon in the hot sun, I had developed a fearsome thirst
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3
as in timid
easily frightened
the more fearsome of the two children would only peer at the guests from a distance
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of fearsome
Thompson said the landscape would only become drier as the day wore on, a fearsome sign for firefighters.
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Evan Bush, NBC News, 8 Jan. 2025
The final set of footprints were tellingly three-toed, belonging to a fearsome predator: the more than 20-foot-long Megalosaurus.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025
Smart is a fearsome defender who averages 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 3 Jan. 2025
Against such a fearsome server this kind of display is always a risk, much more so over best of three sets rather than best of five at the slams, which is absolutely Djokovic’s priority right now.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for fearsome 
Evan Bush, NBC News, 8 Jan. 2025
The final set of footprints were tellingly three-toed, belonging to a fearsome predator: the more than 20-foot-long Megalosaurus.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025
Smart is a fearsome defender who averages 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 3 Jan. 2025
Against such a fearsome server this kind of display is always a risk, much more so over best of three sets rather than best of five at the slams, which is absolutely Djokovic’s priority right now.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for fearsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearsome
Adjective
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So the panel is top tier and should be a formidable alternative to the QD-OLED display used in Samsung’s respective 2025 flagship, the S95F. OLED TVs just keep getting brighter, more vivid, and dazzling — and consumers really can’t go wrong with any of them.Chris Welch, The Verge, 10 Jan. 2025
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After navigating a few early hiccups—which included, of all things, snail slime—TikTok Shop proved formidable; the app’s surge in vendors outpaced competitors like Amazon, which TikTok ultimately wants to replace (or at least dethrone).Jason Parham, WIRED, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Flames were pushed by intense wind gusts that officials had warned could fuel any spark into a fast-moving and erratic wildfire.Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2025
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In 2021, a storm killed over 240 people and left millions of residents without power sparking intense backlash for ERCOT.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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From Dickinson to Colton Dach, who was making his NHL debut, to Nolan Allan and much of the lineup, the Blackhawks weren’t timid.Scott Powers, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
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Usually, a player who has been injured for that long will come in and be timid and not want to do anything too crazy.Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The stability and flexibility around Josh Allen makes for a terrifying formula.Derrik Klassen, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
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What’s more terrifying than losing control of your physical and mental self as your most primal, animalistic instincts take the wheel?David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Lyft’s challenges were compounded by fierce rivalry with Uber (NYSE: UBER) and the disruptive impact of the pandemic.Trefis Team, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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Tariffs Don't Have to Make Economic Sense to Appeal to Trump Voters The debates over tariffs were fierce.Einav Rabinovitch-Fox / Made by History, TIME, 7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Which sounds kind of nerdy and scary simultaneously.Davey Winder, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
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While the unknown is scary, there is magic in transforming and becoming a better version of ourselves.Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The glorious few who still worry about the decline of Palm Beach society speculated wildly that Trump was planning to legalize gambling and build a casino, or — the truly frightening possibility — subdivide his acreage and sell houses.Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
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In a cast full of mothers, the women are naturally sympathetic, triggered by the idea that something that frightening could happen to them too – only to be a little flummoxed at the full picture as more details started to come out.Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Although Altman didn’t explicitly say why the company is losing money, running AI models is very cost intensive, requiring investments in data centers and electricity to provide the necessary computing power.Tharin Pillay, TIME, 8 Jan. 2025
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At present, nitrogen fixation—the chemical process required to produce ammonia from nitrogen gas—is hugely energy intensive, accounting for as much as two percent of the world’s annual energy budget.Charina Chou, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near fearsome
Cite this Entry
“Fearsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearsome. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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