fearful

English

Alternative forms

• fearefull (obsolete)
• fearfull (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English ferful, fervol, equivalent to fear +‎ -ful.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɪəfəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

fearful (comparative fearfuller or fearfuler or more fearful, superlative fearfullest or fearfulest or most fearful)

1. Frightening.
2. Tending to fear; timid.

   a fearful boy

3. (dated) Terrible; shockingly bad.
   • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House

     But every day after dinner, for an hour, we were all together, and then the Favourite and the rest of the Royal Hareem competed who should most beguile the leisure of the Serene Haroun reposing from the cares of State — which were generally, as in most affairs of State, of an arithmetical character, the Commander of the Faithful being a fearful boggler at a sum.

4. (now rare) Frightened; filled with terror.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     Those two great champions did attonce pursew / The fearefull damzell with incessant payns […]

Synonyms

• (frightened): frightened, timid, timorous
• See also Thesaurus:afraid

Translations

frightening

• Bulgarian: страшен (bg) (strašen)
• Czech: děsivý m, hrozný (cs) m, hrozivý m, strašlivý m
• French: effrayant (fr) m, effrayante (fr) f, redoutable (fr)
• German: furchtbar (de)
• Greek: φοβερός (el) m (foverós), τρομακτικός (el) m (tromaktikós)

  Ancient: φοβερός m (phoberós)

• Latin: timidus m, meticulosus, dirus
• Latvian: biedējošs m, biedējoša f, baismīgs
• Portuguese: amedrontador
• Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj)
• Turkish: korkulu (tr)
• Vietnamese: đáng sợ (vi)

tending to fear

• Czech: bázlivý m, lekavý m
• Danish: frygtsom
• Dutch: angstig (nl), bang (nl), vreesachtig (nl)
• French: peureux (fr) m, peureuse (fr) f, craintif (fr) m, craintive (fr) f

• German: furchtsam (de), ängstlich (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: δειλός (deilós)

• Latin: pavidus, timidus

terrible

• Bulgarian: ужасен (bg) (užasen)
• Czech: hrozný (cs) m, děsivý m, strašlivý m
• French: terrible (fr), affreux (fr) m, affreuse (fr) f
• German: furchtbar (de)

• Greek: φοβερός (el) m (foverós), τρομερός (el) m (tromerós)
• Romanian: groaznic (ro) m
• Russian: ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj)

frightened, filled with terror

• Armenian: երկչոտ (hy) (erkčʿot)
• Belarusian: бая́зны m (bajázny)
• Bulgarian: уплашен (bg) (uplašen), страхлив (bg) (strahliv)
• Czech: vystrašený m, ochromený strachem m
• French: peureux (fr) m, peureuse (fr) f
• German: verängstigt (de)
• Greek: φοβισμένος (el) m (fovisménos)
• Irish: anbhách
• Italian: impaurito (it), spaventato (it), pavido (it)

• Latin: pavidus, timidus
• Latvian: nobijies
• Manx: faitagh
• Maori: ihiihi, uruwehi
• Portuguese: amedrontado (pt)
• Russian: испу́ганный (ru) (ispúgannyj), пугли́вый (ru) (puglívyj)
• Spanish: miedoso, temeroso (es)
• Vietnamese: sợ hãi (vi), sợ sệt (vi), sợ (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: terrible, espantoso; tremendo; temeroso

Further reading

• fearful in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• fearful in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Lauffer