frightful

adjective
UK: /ˈfraɪtfəl/
US: /ˈfraɪtfəl/

  1. Very bad or unpleasant.

    1. The weather today is frightful, I don't want to go outside.
    2. There has been a frightful accident; the road is blocked for everyone.

  2. Extremely shocking or causing great fear.

    1. He told me a frightful story about ghosts in the old house.
    2. The news reported a frightful crime wave sweeping through the city recently.

Synonyms

ghastly alarming appalling horrific dreadful terrible hideous shocking awful
frightful adverb

  1. To a great or extreme degree; terribly.

    1. I am frightful sorry about what happened last night, truly.
    2. She sang frightful well, and the crowd wanted an encore.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "frightful" in English means: Very bad or unpleasant., Extremely shocking or causing great fear..

The phonetic transcription of "frightful" is /ˈfraɪtfəl/ in British English and /ˈfraɪtfəl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "frightful": ghastly, alarming, appalling, horrific, dreadful, terrible, hideous, shocking, awful.

Example usage of "frightful": "The weather today is frightful, I don't want to go outside.". More examples on the page.