frightful
adjective
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Definition of frightful
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Other Words from frightful
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adverb
Synonyms for frightful
Synonyms
alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, ghastly, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, shocking, spine-chilling, terrible, terrifying
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Examples of frightful in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Police described a frightful scene the evening of the shooting, with motorists driving around two vehicles involved in the incident as the gunman opened fire. — Julian Gill, Houston Chronicle, "Two men shot dead on East Freeway identified as Louisiana residents," 13 Aug. 2019 The unique and gorgeous cat had been pretty frightful due to her ordeal, which led her to not trust people. — Arizona Republic, azcentral, "A dog that squeals like a pig and more up for adoption in Phoenix-area shelters this week," 21 June 2019 And what about all those frightful fantasies of being overrun by copies of ourselves? — Karen Weintraub, Discover Magazine, "Cloning's Long Legacy — And Why It'll Never Be Used on Humans," 29 Apr. 2019 If extrapolated to large industrialized societies comprising millions, even a few cases in a small group would translate to a frightful rate of violent deaths. — John Hawks, WSJ, "‘The Goodness Paradox’ Review: The Benefits of Good Breeding," 25 Jan. 2019 The winter weather outside might be frightful, but cozying up inside with our fave Christmas movies on Netflix and some snacks is always delightful. — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, "Christmas Movies on Netflix You Can Stream During the Holidays," 19 Dec. 2018 By anchoring it in real life, at least until that final scene, the movie’s costumes make the dizzying nightmares all the more intense and frightful. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Suspira’s Costume Designer on Making Dresses Out of Hair and Redefining ’70s Style as Something Chicly Horrifying," 23 Oct. 2018 The result was anything but frightful; rather, the tale became a nuanced look at the process of boys coming of age. — Alexandra Gekas, Woman's Day, "12 Best Movies Based on Books," 2 Aug. 2010 By next Christmas, the weather outside could be even more frightful. — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Commodity Woes Run Deeper Than China," 28 Nov. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frightful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for frightful
frightful
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of frightful
See the full definition for frightful in the English Language Learners Dictionary
frightful
adjective
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Kids Definition of frightful
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