Meaning of the word frightening

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.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

What happened in Tennessee today is outrageous and frightening.


—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023




Expect some violent and potentially frightening scenes, as well as themes of family, love and loss.


—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2023




The result is tense, frightening and wildly effective.


—Jason Bailey, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2023




Its teeth are impressive – and frightening… Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin speaks on Capitol Hill The NFL player is trying to help ensure schools are prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies.


—Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 30 Mar. 2023




Its success was stark and frightening to see.


—The Oregonian, oregonlive, 27 Mar. 2023




The results are by turns impressive, confusing and frightening.


—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 23 Mar. 2023




The Greeks originally developed the myths as a way to explain the chaotic and sometimes frightening world around them.


—Brittanie Shey, Chron, 21 Mar. 2023




For too many the last several months of life were chaotic, confusing, and frightening.


—Bill Frist, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023


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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘frightening.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Cite this Entry

“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frightening. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

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См. также в других словарях:

• frightening — index dire, formidable, odious, portentous (ominous), sinister Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

• frightening — adj. 1) frightening to + inf. (it s frightening to even contemplate such a possibility) 2) frightening that + clause (it s frightening that a war could break out at any time) * * * [ fraɪtnɪŋ] frightening that + clause (it s frightening that a… …   Combinatory dictionary

• frightening — adj. VERBS ▪ be, feel, look, seem, sound ▪ become, get ▪ The situation was getting frightening …   Collocations dictionary

• frightening — fright|en|ing [ˈfraıtn ıŋ] adj making you feel afraid or nervous = ↑scary ▪ That s a frightening thought. ▪ Going into hospital can be very frightening for a child. ▪ It was the most frightening experience of my life. it is frightening (to do… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

• frightening — [[t]fra͟ɪtənɪŋ[/t]] ADJ GRADED If something is frightening, it makes you feel afraid, anxious, or nervous. It was a very frightening experience and they were very courageous… The number of youngsters involved in crime is frightening. Syn:… …   English dictionary

• frightening — adjective / fraItn IN / making you feel afraid or nervous: That s a frightening thought. | it is frightening (to do sth): It s frightening to think how easily children can be hurt. frighteningly adverb …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

• frightening*/ — [ˈfraɪt(ə)nɪŋ] adj making you feel afraid, nervous, or worried a frightening noise/thought/experience[/ex] It was supposed to be a horror film but it wasn t very frightening.[/ex] It s frightening that people like him get elected.[/ex]… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

• frightening — fright|en|ing [ fraıtnıŋ ] adjective * making you feel afraid: It was supposed to be a horror film but it wasn t very frightening. a. used about things that make you feel nervous or worried: It s frightening that someone like Adolf Hitler could… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

• frightening */ — UK [ˈfraɪt(ə)nɪŋ] / US adjective a) making you feel afraid It was supposed to be a horror film but it wasn t very frightening. b) used about things that make you feel nervous or worried It s frightening that someone like Adolf Hitler could come… …   English dictionary

• frightening — /ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ (say fruytning) adjective 1. causing fear: a frightening monster. 2. extremely large, intense, etc.: a frightening amount of money. –frighteningly, adverb …  

• Frightening — Frighten Fright en, v. t. [imp. {Frightened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Frightening}.] [See {Fright}, v. t.] To disturb with fear; to throw into a state of alarm or fright; to affright; to terrify. [1913 Webster] More frightened than hurt. Old Proverb.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘frightening’.
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• Arabic: مُجَفِّل‎ (mujaffil), مُخِيف‎ (muḵīf), مُرْعِب‎ (murʕib)

  Gulf Arabic: يخوف‎ impf (yḵwwif) (verb)

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 得人驚／得人惊 (dak¹ jan⁴ geng¹)

  Mandarin: 恐怖 (zh) (kǒngbù), 可怕 (zh) (kěpà)

• Dutch: ontstellend (nl), beangstigend (nl), angstaanjagend (nl)
• Finnish: pelottava (fi), karmiva, kauhea (fi)
• French: effrayant (fr)
• Galician: aterrecedor (gl)
• Georgian: შემაშინებელი (šemašinebeli), ამაღელვებელი (amaɣelvebeli), დამზაფრავი (damzapravi)
• German: fürchterlich (de), schreckerregend
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (agisleiks)
• Greek: τρομακτικός (el) m (tromaktikós), φοβιστικός m (fovistikós)

  Ancient: φοβερός (phoberós), δεινός (deinós)

• Hungarian: félelmetes (hu)
• Irish: scanrúil, scéiniúil
• Italian: spaventoso (it)
• Japanese: 恐い (ja) (こわい, kowai), 怖い (ja) (こわい, kowai)
• Korean: 무섭다 (ko) (museopda), 두렵다 (ko) (duryeopda)
• Latin: terribilis, metūculōsus
• Middle Korean: 므ᅀᅴ〮엽다〮 (mùzúyyèptá), 저프다〮 (cèphùtá), 두립〮다〮 (twùlíptá)
• Plautdietsch: schrakjlich
• Polish: przerażający (pl) m
• Portuguese: assustador (pt)
• Romanian: înfricoșător (ro), înspăimântător (ro)
• Russian: пуга́ющий (ru) (pugájuščij)
• Sanskrit: भीम (sa) (bhīma), भीषण (sa) (bhīṣaṇa), घोर (sa) (ghora)
• Scottish Gaelic: eagalach
• Serbo-Croatian: strahovit (sh)
• Spanish: alarmante (es), aterrador (es)
• Swedish: skrämmande (sv)
• Tibetan: ཞེད་སྣང་ཚ་པོ (zhed snang tsha po)
• Turkish: korkutucu (tr)
• Ukrainian: жа́хливий (žáxlyvyj)

• Dutch: afschuwelijk (nl)
• Finnish: kauhea (fi)
• Galician: noxento
• Greek: τρομακτικός (el) m (tromaktikós)
• Polish: okropny (pl), straszny (pl) m
• Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj)
• Spanish: terrible (es)