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

This is all frightening enough — and as the hearing revealed, his bogus theories about AIDS, Lyme disease, and a slew of other public health issues make clear Kennedy is no friend of facts or science, and therefore should be utterly disqualified from HHS secretary. —S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 29 Jan. 2025

The statistics on underage drinking are frightening, and alcohol does cause death and injury. —Tj Hutchinson, The Denver Post, 28 Jan. 2025

But Colombia was perhaps the United States’ most steadfast friend in South America, and the speed with which a 100-year relationship seemed to crumble last night was frightening. —Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2025

The encounter with Joel is intensely frightening and uncomfortable for Lidia. —Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of frighten

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above