fearful — 1 Fearful, apprehensive, afraid are comparable when they mean inspired or moved by fear. In such use they are normally followed by of, that, or lest, afraid being never and fearful and apprehensive infrequently used attributively in this sense.… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
fearful — fearful, fearsome 1. Fearful means ‘full of fear; frightened, apprehensive’, usually with reference to something specific, and is normally followed by of or by a clause introduced by that or lest: • Eisenhower s official policy was to remain… … Modern English usage
fearful — [fir′fəl] adj. 1. causing fear; terrifying; dreadful 2. feeling fear; afraid 3. showing or resulting from fear [a fearful look] 4. Informal very bad, offensive, great, etc. [a fearful liar] SYN. AFRAID fearfulness n … English World dictionary
fearful — [adj1] alarmed, apprehensive aflutter, afraid, aghast, agitated, anxious, chicken, chickenhearted*, diffident, discomposed, disquieted, disturbed, fainthearted, frightened, goosebumpy*, have cold feet*, hesitant, in a dither*, intimidated,… … New thesaurus
fearful — index dire, formidable, ineffable, ominous, pending (imminent), portentous (ominous), recreant … Law dictionary
fearful — mid 14c., “causing fear,” from FEAR (Cf. fear) + FUL (Cf. ful). Meaning “full of fear, timid” (now less common) also is from mid 14c. As a mere emphatic, from 1630s. Related: Fearfully; fearfulness … Etymology dictionary
fearful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) showing or causing fear. 2) informal very great. DERIVATIVES fearfully adverb fearfulness noun … English terms dictionary
fearful — [[t]fɪ͟ə(r)fʊl[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu v link ADJ, oft ADJ of n, ADJ that If you are fearful of something, you are afraid of it. [FORMAL] Bankers were fearful of a world banking crisis... I had often been very fearful, very angry, and very… … English dictionary
fearful — adjective Date: 14th century 1. causing or likely to cause fear, fright, or alarm especially because of dangerous quality < a fearful storm > 2. a. full of fear < fearful for his safety > b. indicating or arising from fear < a fearful glance > c … New Collegiate Dictionary
fearful — fearfully, adv. fearfulness, n. /fear feuhl/, adj. 1. causing or apt to cause fear; frightening: a fearful apparition. 2. feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude: fearful for his life; fearful lest he commit suicide. 3. full of awe or… … Universalium
