fearful








adjective

  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 reverence: fearful of the Lord.
  4. showing or caused by fear: fearful behavior.
  5. extreme in size, intensity, or badness: a fearful head cold; fearful poverty.

adjective

  1. having fear; afraid
  2. causing fear; frightening
  3. informal very unpleasant or annoyinga fearful cold
adj.

mid-14c., “causing fear,” from fear + -ful. Meaning “full of fear, timid” (now less common) also is from mid-14c. As a mere emphatic, from 1630s. Related: Fearfully; fearfulness.

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