frightening
adjective
fright·en·ing
ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈfrīt-niŋ
: causing fear
frightening news
a very frightening experience
The man with red eyes made the frightening grimace that passed for his smile.—
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'EngleFor a man who had tussled with crocs, venomous snakes and other frightening creatures, this was going to be a leisurely swim.—Jennifer Wulff et al.
Jennifer Wulff et al.Synonyms
Examples of frightening in a Sentence
a truly frightening movie
Recent Examples on the Web
The movie eventually started around 10:45 p.m. (in France, bad manners can be equally as frightening as genre films).
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 May 2024
Each is intermittently funny, frightening, and mondo uncomfortable.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for frightening 
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 May 2024
Each is intermittently funny, frightening, and mondo uncomfortable.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for frightening
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frightening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near frightening
Cite this Entry
“Frightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frightening. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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