frightful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfraɪtfəl/ UK /ˈfraɪtfəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
causing fear or horror; dreadful or extreme

A frightful storm tore the roof from the barn.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing fear or horror;... dreadful horrible terrible ghastly appalling fearful horrific awful

Opposites

pleasant delightful reassuring comforting

Word family

Forms frightfulness

Derived forms frightfullyfrightfulness

Related forms fright frighten frightened

Etymology

From fright (from Old English fyrhto, 'fear, dread', from Proto-Germanic *furhtÄ«n) + the suffix -ful.

fyrhto Old English *furhtaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# frightful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈfraɪtfəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfraɪtfəl/

## Meanings
1. causing fear or horror; dreadful or extreme

## Examples
- A frightful storm tore the roof from the barn.

## Synonyms
- dreadful
- horrible
- terrible
- ghastly
- appalling
- fearful
- horrific
- awful

## Antonyms
- pleasant
- delightful
- reassuring
- comforting

## Derived Forms
- frightfully
- frightfulness

## Related Forms
- fright
- frighten
- frightened

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fyrhto
- Root: *furhtaz

## Etymology
From fright (from Old English fyrhto, 'fear, dread', from Proto-Germanic *furhtÄ«n) + the suffix -ful.

## AI Etymology
Frightful is from fright (from Old English fyrhto, 'fear, dread', from Proto-Germanic *furhtÄ«n) + the suffix -ful. In present-day use, it means causing fear or horror; dreadful or extreme. Derived formations include frightfully and frightfulness. Related vocabulary includes fright, frighten, and frightened.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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