What does fearful mean?

Definitions for fearful
ˈfɪər fəlfear·ful

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word fearful.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. fearfuladjective

    experiencing or showing fear

    "a fearful glance"; "fearful of criticism"

  2. awful, dire, direful, dread(a), dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terribleadjective

    causing fear or dread or terror

    "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"

  3. cowardly, fearfuladjective

    lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted

    "cowardly dogs, ye will not aid me then"- P.B.Shelley

  4. fearful, frightfuladjective

    extremely distressing

    "fearful slum conditions"; "a frightful mistake"

  5. fearful, timorous, trepidadjective

    timid by nature or revealing timidity

    "timorous little mouse"; "in a timorous tone"; "cast fearful glances at the large dog"

Wiktionary

  1. fearfuladjective

    Frightening.

  2. fearfuladjective

    Frightened, filled with terror.

  3. fearfuladjective

    Terrible.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Fearfuladjective

    Etymology: fear and full.

    He’s gentle, and not fearful. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

    The Irish are more fearful to offend the law than the English. John Davies, on Ireland.

    I have made my heroine fearful of death, which neither Cassandra nor Cleopatra would have been. John Dryden, Auren. Pref.

    Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises. Ex. xv. 11.

    Neither fast to friend, nor fearful to foe. Roger Ascham, Schoolm.

    Against such monsters God maintained his own, by fearful execution of extraordinary judgment upon them. Richard Hooker.

    What God did command touching Canaan, concerneth not us any otherwise than only as a fearful pattern of his just displeasure. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 17.

    All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement
    Inhabits here: some heav’nly power guide us
    Out of this fearful country. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

    It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebr. x. 31.

    Lay down by those pleasures the fearful and dangerous thunders and lightnings, the horrible and frequent earthquakes, and then there will be found no comparison. Walter Raleigh.

    This is the natural fruit of sin, and the present revenge which it takes upon sinners, besides that fearful punishment which shall be inflicted on them in another life. John Tillotson.

Wikipedia

  1. fearful

    Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear in human beings may occur in response to a certain stimulus occurring in the present, or in anticipation or expectation of a future threat perceived as a risk to oneself. The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response or paralysis. In humans and other animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning. Thus, fear is judged as rational or appropriate and irrational or inappropriate. An irrational fear is called a phobia. Fear is closely related to the emotion anxiety, which occurs as the result of threats that are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable. The fear response serves survival by engendering appropriate behavioral responses, so it has been preserved throughout evolution. Sociological and organizational research also suggests that individuals' fears are not solely dependent on their nature but are also shaped by their social relations and culture, which guide their understanding of when and how much fear to feel.Fear is sometimes incorrectly considered the opposite of courage. For the reason that courage is a willingness to face adversity, fear is an example of a condition that makes the exercise of courage possible.

ChatGPT

  1. fearful

    Fearful is an adjective describing someone or something that is frightened, scared or apprehensive. It can also represent a feeling of apprehension or anxiety about a possible or imminent situation or event. Fearful can also pertain to showing or expressing fear.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Fearfuladjective

    full of fear, apprehension, or alarm; afraid; frightened

  2. Fearfuladjective

    inclined to fear; easily frightened; without courage; timid

  3. Fearfuladjective

    indicating, or caused by, fear

  4. Fearfuladjective

    inspiring fear or awe; exciting apprehension or terror; terrible; frightful; dreadful

How to pronounce fearful?

How to say fearful in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of fearful in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of fearful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of fearful in a Sentence

  1. Paul Ryan:

    I'm still fearful of all of that, however, I have come to feel it is quite different. I'm starting to believe what my ex-wife was always telling me -- that it's safe.

  2. Sidney Madwed:

    To be healthy, wealthy, happy and successful in any and all areas of your life you need to be aware that you need to think healthy, wealthy, happy and successful thoughts twenty four hours a day and cancel all negative, destructive, fearful and unhappy thoughts. These two types of thought cannot coexist if you want to share in the abundance that surrounds us all.

  3. Rick Meckler:

    The dominant theme in global markets is low interest rates and liquidity and the support it provides for the stock market, for equities globally, every fearful drop in the global stock market has been met by this lack of alternatives and cheap cost of financing... It's a 'risk on' when the world's central banks have your back.

  4. Pope Francis:

    The humble are those who are concerned not simply with the past but also with the future, since they know how to look ahead, to spread their branches, remembering the past with gratitude, the proud, on the other hand, simply repeat, grow rigid and enclose themselves in that repetition, feeling certain about what they know and fearful of anything new because they cannot control it.

  5. Developer Nic Johns:

    In developing' Am I Going Down ?' I wanted to present the fact that the vast majority of flights are incredibly low risk. Our app is meant as tool to help reassure fearful fliers. for my analysis I only include crashes where there was at least one passenger fatality -- which is the relevant stat for those with a fear of flying.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

fearful#10000#22989#100000

Translations for fearful

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • бая́зныBelarusian
  • уплашен, страшен, ужасен, страхливBulgarian
  • ängstlich, furchtbar, furchtsamGerman
  • τρομερός, φοβερός, φοβισμένος, τρομακτικόςGreek
  • temeroso, miedosoSpanish
  • terrible, craintive, craintif, redoutable, effrayante, peureux, peureuse, effrayant, affreuse, affreuxFrench
  • faitaghManx
  • երկչոտArmenian
  • takutIndonesian
  • impaurito, spaventato, pavidoItalian
  • timidus, meticulosus, pavidusLatin
  • biedējošs, nobijies, biedējošaLatvian
  • Com medoPortuguese
  • groaznicRomanian
  • страшный, пугливый, испуганный, ужасныйRussian
  • korkuluTurkish
  • sợ sệt, sợ, đáng sợ, sợ hãiVietnamese

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"fearful." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/fearful>.

Discuss these fearful definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Ann Williams
    Ann Williams
    i am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    LikeReply8 years ago

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a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
A jab
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