fearful

fear-ful · adjective

imported

Definitions

adjective

  1. 1.

    Feeling or showing fear; afraid or anxious.

  2. 2.

    Causing fear; frightening or terrible.

  3. 3.

    (informal, dated) Extremely great or bad; used for emphasis.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    fearful of — Afraid or anxious about something specific

Related words

Antonyms: brave, confident, courageous, fearless
See also: afraid, fear, fearless
Synonyms: afraid, anxious, apprehensive, frightened, scared

Etymology

From Old English fǣr ("danger, sudden calamity") combined with the suffix -ful ("full of"). The word has been in use since Middle English with both meanings of "causing fear" and "feeling fear."