Frightful

Definition: Frightful

Frightful

Adjective

1. Provoking horror; "an atrocious automobile accident"; "a frightful crime of decapitation"; "an alarming, even horrifying, picture"; "war is beyond all words horrible"- Winston Churchill; "an ugly wound".

2. (informal) extreme in degree; "in a frightful hurry"; "spent a frightful amount of money".

3. Extremely distressing; "fearful slum conditions"; "a frightful mistake"; "suffered terrible thirst".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "frightful" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references)

Synonyms: Frightful

Pain

Shocking, terrific, grim, appalling, crushing; dreadful, fearful, frightful; thrilling, tremendous, dire; heart-breaking, heart-rending, heart-wounding, heart-corroding, heart-sickening; harrowing, rending.

Ugliness

Frightful, hideous, odious, uncanny, forbidding; repellant, repulsive, repugnant, grotesque, bizarre; grody, grody to the max; horrid, horrible; shocking; (painful).

Crosswords: Frightful

Books

• The Ute massacre : brave Miss Meeker's captivity, her own account of it : also, the narratives of her mother and Mrs. Price, to which is added further thrilling and intensely interesting details, not hitherto published, of the bravery and frightful suffer (reference)

• What If ... ?: Fourteen Encounters--Some Frightful, Some Frivolous--That Might Happen to Anyone (reference)

• Onania, or the Heinous Sin of Self Pollution and All Its Frightful Consequences in Both Sexes Considered (reference)

• The frightful punishment; Con Orem and Montana's great glove fights of the 1860's (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Would you not laugh to see these frightful heads. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

We all know the frightful disturbances in which the ordinary family is plunged when the curse of war swoops down upon the bread-winner and those for whom he works and contrives. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

My child will not die with that frightful sickness for lack of aid.

A frightful hole he said it was.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expression using "frightful": frightful image. Additional references.

Albanian

i tmerrshëm (appalling, awesome, awful, Creese, damnable, darn, deadly, deuced, dire, direful, eldritch, enormous, gruesome, hideous, horrible, horrid, infernal, macabre, parlous, perishing, redoubtable, redoubted, sad, scary, terrible, terrific, towering, tragic, tremendous), i shëmtuar (disfigured, haggish, hideous, ill-favored, ill-favoured, miscreated, oaf, ugly, uncomely, unhandsome, unsightly), i frikshëm (bloodcurdling, dreadful, eerie, eery, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, grisly, gruesome, horrible, horrid, morbid, redoubtable, redoubted, terrific, tremendous). (various references)

Arabic 

‏كريه (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, atrocious, bad, brackish, cursed, detestable, disagreeable, distasteful, foul, hateful, horrible, loathsome, nasty, objectionable, odious, offensive, out of favor, out of favour, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, seamy, sickening, sour, ugly, unattractive, unpleasant, unwholesome, wicked), ‏مفزع (appallingly, awful, dread, dreadful, frightening, horrible, sanctuary, startling, terrible), ‏مفرط (exaggerated, excess, excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, intemperate, intolerable, overabundant, overmuch, overweening, super, superabundant, superfluous, superlative, too much, unconscionable, undue, unqualified, unreasonable, unrestrained), ‏مخيف (awful, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, grisly, gruesome, horrifying, scaremonger, terrifying), ‏مروع (alarmed, appalling, awful, dreadful, frightened, frightening, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, horrible, horrific, horrified, horrifying, macabre, panic stricken, scared, shocked, shocking, startled, startling, terrified, terrifying, terror stricken, terrorized), ‏مرعب (alarming, appalling, awesome, dreadful, frightening, hair raising, horrible, horrific, horrifying, terrible, terrific, terrifying), ‏بغيض (abominable, accursed, antipathetic, beastly, blasted, cursed, damned, detestable, distasteful, dreadful, forbidding, hateful, horrid, impossible, nasty, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, out of favor, out of favour, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, sticky, ungrateful, unhappy, unlikely, unpalatable, unpleasant, unsavory, unsavoury, unwelcome, villainous). (various references)

Bulgarian 

страхотен (awesome, devilish, direful, fearsome, formidable, frantic, furious, ghastly, great, morbid, tremendous, unearthly), страшен (alarming, almighty, apocalyptic, awesome, awful, dire, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, grisly, gruesome, hair raising, horrible, redoubtable, scary, terrible, terrific, tremendous, wicked), ужасен (aghast, appalling, awful, bloodcurdling, deadly, desperate, deuced, devastating, dire, direful, dreadful, eldritch, execrable, fearful, fearsome, frantic, furious, ghastly, great, grievous, grisly, gruesome, horrible, horrid, horror-stricken, lurid, macabre, miserable, morbid, murderous, planet-stricken, planet-struck, precious, sad, septic, terrible, terrific, towering, tremendous, unholy, unmentionable, vicious, wretched). (various references)

Chinese 

可怕 (awful, dreadful, fearful, formidable, hideous, horrible, terrible, terribly). (various references)

Czech

strašný (awful, chronic, dire, distressing, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, formidable, ghastly, gruesome, hairy, hellish, hideous, hopeless, horrible, horrific, terrible, tremendous), hrozný (abysmal, appalling, atrocious, awful, damnable, dire, dreadful, excruciating, fearful, fearsome, formidable, ghastly, grim, hateful, hellish, horrible, mortal, terrible, terrific, tremendous), údìsný (distressing). (various references)

Finnish

kauhea (awful, dreadful, horrible, terrible), kamala (dreadful, ghastly), hirmuinen (dreadful, horrible, terrible). (various references)

French

lamentable, horrible, effroyable, affreux, épouvantable. (various references)

German

schrecklich (abominably, abysmal, appalling, awful, awfully, dire, direly, dreadful, dreadfully, fearful, fearfully, formidable, frantic, frightfully, grim, gruesome, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horridly, horrific, horrifying, indescribable, indescribably, lurid, luridly, monstrously, painfully, shockingly, terrible, terribly, terrificly, terrifying, tremendous, tremenduously). (various references)

Greek 

φοβερός (abysmal, chilling, fearsome, terrible), τρομερόσ (awful, dire, direful, formidable, grisly, redoubtable, terrible), τρομερός (dire, terrible). (various references)

Hebrew 

מפחי�" (forbidding, frightening, scary, spooky), מבעית (gruesome, haggard, macabre), איום (awful, dire, dreadful, fearful, fell, grim, hideous, intimidation, menace, terrible, terrific, threat), זועתי (atrocious, grisly, horrible, horrific), � ורא (bloody, damned, dire, dread, fearful, hellish, shocking, terrible, terrific, unholy). (various references)

Hungarian

félelmetes (awe inspiring, awesome, dread, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, grim, morbid, redoubtable, redoubted, terrific, tremendous), rémítõ (frightening, gruesome, terrific), ijesztõ (appaling, appalling, creepy, forbidding, frightening, horrific, startling). (various references)

Italian

tremendo (appalling, awful, dreadful, formidably, terrible). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

御面相 (frightful face). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

�"め�"そう (frightful face). (various references)

Korean 

무서운 (Dire, Fearful, frightening, horrible, scary). (various references)

Manx

owanagh (fearful, frightening), bugganeagh (dreary, fearful looking, frightening, puckish). (various references)

Norwegian

skrekkelig (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, hideous, horrible, terrible). (various references)

Pig Latin

ightfulfray.(various references)

Portuguese

feio (fearful, haggish, ill-favored, ill-favoured, nasty, shapeless, ugly, uncomely, unhandsome, unlovely, unseemly, unsightly), tremendo (parlous, tearing, terrible, terrific, tremendous), terrível (abysmal, awesome, awful, deadly, desperate, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, eldritch, fearful, fearsome, fell, gruesome, horrible, lurid, parlous, redoubtable, redoubted, terrible, terrific, tragic, tremendous, ungodly), medonho (awful, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, forbidding, grisly, hideous, horrible, infernal, terrible, tremendous), espantoso (appaling, appalling, astonishing, astounding, colossal, dreadful, fearsome, phenomenal, surprising, terrible, terrific, unbelievable, wonderful, wondrous), desagradável (bad, beastly, bleak, brackish, crabbed, desagreeable, disagreeable, disgusting, dismal, displeasing, distasteful, dreadful, dreary, fearful, forbidding, foul, ghastly, grisly, horrible, invidious, nasty, objectionable, obnoxious, offensive, repellent, seamy, ugly, uncomfortable, uncongenial, undesirable, ungrateful, unlovely, unpleasant, unsavory, unsavoury, unthankful, untoward, unwelcome, unwished), assustador (astounding, fearful, fearsome, frightener, scary, startling). (various references)

Romanian

vajnic (fearful, fiery, terrible, vigorous), teribil (awful, awfully, damnably, direful, dreadful, exceedingly, excruciating, extraordinary, fearsome, formidable, ghastly, like old boot, terrible, terribly, terrific, tremendous), grozav (a, almighty, atrocious, awful, awfully, bally, beastly, bully, classy, clinking, Dandy, desperate, dreadful, exceedingly, excessively, famous, fell, first rate, formidable, gee, ghastly, grand, horrible, horrid, immense, immensely, jolly, killing, like blazes, like hell, lovely, mad, magnificent, mightily, nicely, nifty, plush, plushy, proper, ripping, some, stunning, swell, terrible, terribly, terrific, thundering, topping, tremendous, tremendously, uncommonly, vastly, whacking), groaznic (appalling, awful, awfully, baleful, desperate, dire, dreadful, foul, ghastly, grim, groovy, gruesome, horrendous, horrent, horrible, horribly, horrid, howling, lousy, miserable, miserably, monstrous, sad, scary, shocking, terrible, terribly, vile), enorm (astonishing, awful, colossal, enormous, huge, hugely, hugeous, immense, immensely, infinite, massive, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, prodigious, terrible, thundering, tremendous, vast, whopping), înspãimântãtor (appalling, awsome, dread, dreadful, fearful, formidable, frightfully, ghastly, ghostlike, horrible, horrid, howling, terrible, terrific, tremendous, unearthly). (various references)

Russian 

ужасный (appalling, atrocious, awful, blood-curding, chilling, chronic, damnable, damned, desperate, dire, direful, dreadful, fearful, formidable, ghastly, grisly, gruelling, gruesome, hair raising, hair-raising, hairy, heinous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, macabre, perishing, spooky, terrible, tragic, unearthy). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

užasan (appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, horrible, shocking, terrible), strahovit (dreadful, fearsome, horrible, scary, terrible, terrific), strašan (almighty, awful, dire, direful, dreadful, fearsome, formidable, horrible, horrid, howling, redoubtable, redoubted, terrible, terrific). (various references)

Spanish

horrible (abhorrent, abominable, agonizing, alien, appalling, awful, bleak, dire, direful, dirty, dismal, dread, dreary, evil, formidably, foul, ghastly, grim, grisly, gruesome, hellish, hideous, horrible, horrid, lousy, lurid, moldy, mouldy, nasty, shocking, stinking, terrible, terror, vile, wicked). (various references)

Swedish

hemsk (abysmal, agonizing, alarmed, atrocious, awful, bloodcurdling, creepy, dire, dismal, dismayed, dreadful, dreary, dumbfounded, eerie, eery, fell, frantic, ghastly, ghoulish, grisly, gruesome, hair raising, harrowing, hideous, horrible, horrid, horrific, lurid, put out of countenance, terrible, terrific, uncanny, weird, wicked). (various references)

Turkish

müthiş (almighty, appalling, awful, bang up, beastly, colossal, deadly, devastating, devilish, dire, direful, fabulous, fearful, filthy, formidable, gee-whiz, helluva, prodigious, ripping, smashing, splendid, splendiferous, stunning, stupendous, superb, swell, tearing, terrible, terrific, thundering, unco, wild), korkunç (appalling, awesome, awful, cruel, desperate, dire, direful, disastrous, disgusting, dreadfull, eldritch, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightening, ghastly, ghoulish, gory, grim, grisly, gruesome, haircurling, hair-raiser, hellish, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, lurid, monstrous, redoubtable, scary, shocking, sickening, terrible, terrific, terrifying), kocaman (big, bulky, colossal, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, fab, gargantuan, gigantean, gigantic, gross, huge, hugely, hulking, hulky, jumbo-sized, mammoth, monster, of vast dimensions, prodigious, rousing, tearing, thumping, thundering, tremendous, walloping, whacking, whaling, whopping), iğrenç (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, cloying, crying, damn, damned, detestable, dirty, disgusting, distasteful, dread, dreadfull, execrable, filthy, foul, ghoulish, god-awful, grievous, hatable, hateable, hateful, heinous, hideous, horrible, horrid, infernal, loathsome, lousy, mangy, mawkish, nasty, nauseous, noisome, obnoxious, odious, offensive, putrid, rancid, rank, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scummy, shocking, sick, sickening, sickly, slimy, squirmy, stinking, ugly, vile, villainous, yuck), dehşetli (dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, horrendous, terrifying), berbat (abominable, abysmal, accursed, accurst, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, badly, beastly, bum, chronic, crappy, dashed, destroyed, deuced, devilish, disgusting, dread, dreadfull, egregious, execrable, fierce, flagitious, ghastly, grotty, hell, hell of, helluva, horrible, horrid, indifferent, infamous, infernal, ropy, rotten, screwed, shocking, sickening, spoilt, sticky, stinking, terrible, ungodly, unsavory, unsavoury, vicious, vile, villainous, violent, wretched). (various references)

Turkmen 

elhenз (dreadful, terrible). (various references)

Ukrainian

страхітливий (appalling, horrendous, horrific, prodigious, unnatural, whopping), страшний (awful, blood-curdling, dread, frantic, ghastly, grisly, hair raising, horrible, horrid, terrible), жахливий (abominable, abysmal, almighty, appalling, atrocious, awesome, awful, blinking, blood-curdling, blue, chronic, damnable, damned, deadly, desperate, deuced, devilish, dire, direful, dreadful, eerie, eery, eldritch, enormous, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, flagrant, frightening, grievous, gruesome, horrible, horrific, iniquitous, macabre, monstrous, plaguy, scarey, scary, towering, tragic, tremendous, ungodly, wretched), потворний (malformed, miscreated, monstrous, ugly). (various references)

Vietnamese 

to kinh khủng, khủng khiếp (blood-curdling, horrendous, horrific, lurid, macabre, terrific, tremendous), ghê sợ (fearful, frightfuly, ghastly, grisly). (various references)

Welsh

erch (speckled), echrydus (fearful, shocking), dychrynllyd (terrible), brawychus (terrible). (various references)

horrida, terribile, terribilem, terribili, terribilia, terribilibus, terribilis, terribiliter, terribilium. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "frightful": frightfully, frightfulness, frightfulnesses. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Frightful" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: frightfu. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: rightful.

-3 letters: fitful, flight, fright.

-4 letters: fifth, fight, filth, firth, flirt, frith, fruit, girth, gliff, griff, grift, grith, gruff, guilt, light, right, thirl, thurl.

-5 letters: flit, frig, frit, frug, furl, gift, gilt, girl, girt, glut, grit, guff, gulf, hilt, huff, hurl, hurt, iglu, lift, litu, luff, riff, rift, ruff, ruth, thir, thru, thug, tiff.

+2 letters: frightfully.

+3 letters: foresightful.

+4 letters: frightfulness.