frightful

CEFRB2

/ˈfɹaɪtfəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Very unpleasant, shocking, or frightening.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Full of something causing fright, whether, Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming.

Examples

  • I was filled with frightful sorrow for her.

  • It was frightful when my car skidded on the ice.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Full of fright, whether

  2. Afraid, frightened.

  3. Full of something causing fright, whether

More examples

In context

  • Ðis frigtful ðus a-biden,

  • See how the frightful herds run from the wood.

  • Francis Urquhart: What a frightful little man. Where do they find them these days? Tim Stamper: God knows. If I had a dog like that, I'd shoot it. Francis Urquhart: Well, yes. Quite.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank storm last night destroyed many homes and terrified the residents.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English frightful (“afraid”), from Old English forhtfull (“fainthearted, timorous”). Equivalent to fright + -ful.