FEARFUL Synonyms: 243 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'fearful' different from other adjectives like it?

The words afraid and apprehensive are common synonyms of fearful . While all three words mean "disturbed by fear," fearful implies often a timorous or worrying temperament. // the child is fearful of loud noises

Q: When can 'afraid' be used instead of 'fearful'?

While the synonyms afraid and fearful are close in meaning, afraid often suggests weakness or cowardice and regularly implies inhibition of action or utterance. // afraid to speak the truth

Q: When is it sensible to use 'apprehensive' instead of 'fearful'?

The synonyms apprehensive and fearful are sometimes interchangeable, but apprehensive suggests a state of mind and implies a premonition of evil or danger. // apprehensive of being found out

fearful

adjective

ˈfir-fəl

Definition of fearful next

as in terrifying

causing fear the fearful roar of a lion

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in timid

easily frightened the stray cat that we took in is still fearful, even around us

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in intense

extreme in degree, power, or effect the fearful wind and cold simply made being outside a miserable experience

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fearful different from other adjectives like it?

The words afraid and apprehensive are common synonyms of fearful. While all three words mean "disturbed by fear," fearful implies often a timorous or worrying temperament.

the child is fearful of loud noises

When can afraid be used instead of fearful?

While the synonyms afraid and fearful are close in meaning, afraid often suggests weakness or cowardice and regularly implies inhibition of action or utterance.

afraid to speak the truth

When is it sensible to use apprehensive instead of fearful?

The synonyms apprehensive and fearful are sometimes interchangeable, but apprehensive suggests a state of mind and implies a premonition of evil or danger.

apprehensive of being found out

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fearful Advertisement Union organizers had pressed for the card-check law, contending the secret ballot process, typically held at job sites, left workers fearful of retaliation from employers. —

Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024 Some are fearful about the possibility of vigilantism. —

Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024 Albeit apprehensive and fearful that the Black Girls Tennis Club would be whitewashed, the inaugural cohort of participants developed a close bond. —

Essence, 17 Oct. 2024 Other experts said the exercises proved only that the kingdom is fearful of Tehran. —

Morgan Phillips, Fox News, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fearful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearful

Adjective

Winters — who was so terrifying in Heroes of the Fourth Turning and who revealed a messy vulnerability behind Kerry Castellabate’s hard bangs and structured suits on Succession — is a pro at tough, slick surfaces with tangles of insecurity underneath.

Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
Perusing the store’s shelves, there’s the usual lineup of Route 66 merch alongside a host of shirts bearing new and terrifying puns.

Dan Sheehan, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024