as in terrifying
causing fear
a truly frightening movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scaring
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frightening
Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
The prominence of perimenopause as a long, frightening stage in the physical and emotional rollercoaster caused by our shifty hormones is being shaped by influencers, advocates, and doctors who are not only diseasifying midlife but also invariably selling some product or service to calm the storm.
—Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026
Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Adjective
Republicans have pushed an unusually divisive agenda, inflation is high, gas prices are soaring, ICE raids are frightening and the president has launched a Middle East war.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
The prominence of perimenopause as a long, frightening stage in the physical and emotional rollercoaster caused by our shifty hormones is being shaped by influencers, advocates, and doctors who are not only diseasifying midlife but also invariably selling some product or service to calm the storm.
—Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.
—Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightening
Adjective
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The terrifying cadence of airstrikes shapes daily life in Tehran.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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At the time, local hunters blamed the Ping for scaring away game.—
Andrew Coletti,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Wallner and second baseman Luke Keaschall had a scary collision in the eighth inning on a pop fly to right by Salvador Perez that Keaschall caught.—
David Brown,
Twin Cities,
30 Mar. 2026
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Especially one that features Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, Val Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy, all at the same time, a legitimately scary roster that goes four lines and two goaltenders deep.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some cyclists sped by pretty quickly, startling us and our dog.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Yahoo will be competing against a familiar foil in Google, which remains the same formidable force that spelled the company's demise 20 years ago and has been progressively layering more AI into its search engine with its Gemini technology.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Then finding the players who can execute them has made UConn the sport’s most formidable force.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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He’s involved in a war of monumental proportions that’s shocking the globe.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
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Here in Eruemukohwarien, a few individual villagers climb over the perimeter sandbags in order to place their cassava, laid out on bamboo trays, in shocking proximity to the 30-foot fireball.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This is going to be a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
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In another case, a 10-year-old girl contracted horrible lesions on 10 percent of her body — mostly on her legs — after contact with giant hogweed.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This is a terrible blow against reform and the Dems should be ashamed.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Here are five novels that have been tied to terrible crimes.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightening. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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