1
as in terrifying
causing fear
the fearful roar of a lion
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2
as in timid
easily frightened
the stray cat that we took in is still fearful, even around us
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3
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
the fearful wind and cold simply made being outside a miserable experience
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4
as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
fearful of venturing out onto the dark highway, the stranded motorist decided to wait in the car for help
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of fearful
Too many people too ashamed, suspicious, or fearful to speak.
—
Martin McKenzie-Murray, SPIN, 7 Jan. 2025
Some are now fearful Republicans are beginning to try to weaponize that small-dollar model against them, further stifling their ascent.
—Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 2 Jan. 2025
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Israel’s Bombing Rules: Surprised by Oct. 7 and fearful of another attack, Israel weakened safeguards meant to protect noncombatants, allowing officers to endanger up to 20 people in each airstrike.
—Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Ronan Farrow described how this narrative held power for more than 20 years, largely because media outlets, fearful of Allen’s power in the industry, didn’t want to consider his sister’s side of the story.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fearful 
Martin McKenzie-Murray, SPIN, 7 Jan. 2025
Some are now fearful Republicans are beginning to try to weaponize that small-dollar model against them, further stifling their ascent.
—Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 2 Jan. 2025
Today’s Paper | Subscribe Our Coverage of the Middle East Crisis
Israel’s Bombing Rules: Surprised by Oct. 7 and fearful of another attack, Israel weakened safeguards meant to protect noncombatants, allowing officers to endanger up to 20 people in each airstrike.
—Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Ronan Farrow described how this narrative held power for more than 20 years, largely because media outlets, fearful of Allen’s power in the industry, didn’t want to consider his sister’s side of the story.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fearful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearful
Adjective
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The stability and flexibility around Josh Allen makes for a terrifying formula.—
Derrik Klassen,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
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What’s more terrifying than losing control of your physical and mental self as your most primal, animalistic instincts take the wheel?—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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From Dickinson to Colton Dach, who was making his NHL debut, to Nolan Allan and much of the lineup, the Blackhawks weren’t timid.—
Scott Powers,
The Athletic,
3 Jan. 2025
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Usually, a player who has been injured for that long will come in and be timid and not want to do anything too crazy.—
Kyle Newman,
The Denver Post,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Chiefs tallied another three points from Butker as both defenses were noticeably intense and solid as the first quarter ended 6-3 Kansas City.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN,
19 Jan. 2025
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The single performs even better on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, which is compiled in the same way as the Rock Digital Song Sales list, only the focus is exclusively on the more intense, harder style of the genre.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In need of a way to raise funds, but afraid of the political consequences of implementing new taxes, state lawmakers opted to experiment with a lottery.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA TODAY,
11 Jan. 2025
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Some children might regress to an earlier stage of development, becoming afraid of going to school and leaving their parents.—
Jenny Gold,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The glorious few who still worry about the decline of Palm Beach society speculated wildly that Trump was planning to legalize gambling and build a casino, or — the truly frightening possibility — subdivide his acreage and sell houses.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2025
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In a cast full of mothers, the women are naturally sympathetic, triggered by the idea that something that frightening could happen to them too – only to be a little flummoxed at the full picture as more details started to come out.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Which sounds kind of nerdy and scary simultaneously.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
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In the pilot alone, season two feels a little scarier than one.—
Abbey White,
The Hollywood Reporter,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Although Altman didn’t explicitly say why the company is losing money, running AI models is very cost intensive, requiring investments in data centers and electricity to provide the necessary computing power.—
Tharin Pillay,
TIME,
8 Jan. 2025
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At present, nitrogen fixation—the chemical process required to produce ammonia from nitrogen gas—is hugely energy intensive, accounting for as much as two percent of the world’s annual energy budget.—
Charina Chou,
Foreign Affairs,
7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Growers reported a drop in workers showing up to their jobs, and advocacy groups saw a surge of frightened families show up to legal workshops on how to protect themselves against deportation.—
Rachel Uranga,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Jan. 2025
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When Julia arrived with a can of cat food, the first kitten had already been adopted, but the second—a frightened and feisty tabby—was still there.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near fearful
Cite this Entry
“Fearful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearful. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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