fearful
12 synonyms and 5 antonyms for fearful, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adj — Feeling afraid or anxious.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
How to use fearful
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
fearful of
fearful silence
Etymology
From Middle English ferful or fervol, equivalent to fear plus -ful.
Full origin of fearful →Frequently asked questions
What does “fearful” mean?
The word “fearful” means feeling afraid or anxious. In plain terms, frightened, or (of things) frightening — and informally, just "terrible" or "extreme.".
How do you pronounce “fearful”?
“Fearful” is pronounced FEER-fuhl (/ˈfɪɹfəl/ in IPA).
How do you use “fearful” in a sentence?
Here is “fearful” used in a sentence: “She was fearful of what the test results might show.”
What part of speech is “fearful”?
“Fearful” is an adjective.
Is “fearful” a common word?
“Fearful” is an uncommon word in modern English.
How many meanings does “fearful” have?
“Fearful” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: feeling afraid or anxious.
What is the difference between fearful and afraid?
Afraid is the more common, everyday word for feeling fear, usually followed by "of," as in "afraid of spiders." Fearful means the same thing but has a slightly more formal or literary tone and can also describe something that causes fear, a meaning afraid does not carry.
What is the difference between fearful and fearsome?
Fearful can describe either the person feeling afraid or something that inspires fear, while fearsome is used only to describe something frightening or intimidating, not the person experiencing the fear. A fearful child looks at a fearsome dog.
