New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
Frightful — Fright ful, a. 1. Full of fright; affrighted; frightened. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] See how the frightful herds run from the wood. W. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. Full of that which causes fright; exciting alarm; impressing terror; shocking; as, a… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
frightful — [adj2] offensive annoying, awful, bad, calamitous, disagreeable, dreadful, extreme, ghastly, great, hideous, horrible, insufferable, lewd, shocking, terrible, terrific, unpleasant, vile, wicked, wrong; concepts 529,545 Ant. delightful, gentle,… … New thesaurus
frightful — [frīt′fəl] adj. 1. causing fright; terrifying; alarming 2. shocking; terrible 3. Informal a) unpleasant; annoying b) great [in a frightful hurry] frightfully adv. frightfulness n … English World dictionary
frightful — index deplorable, disastrous, formidable, insufferable, loathsome, ominous, portentous (ominous) … Law dictionary
frightful — (adj.) mid 13c., timid; c.1600 alarming; from FRIGHT (Cf. fright) + FUL (Cf. ful). In common with most ful adjectives, it once had both an active and passive sense. Meaning dreadful, horrible, shocking (often hyperbolic) is attested from c.1700;… … Etymology dictionary
frightful — dreadful, *fearful, awful, terrible, terrific, horrible, horrific, shocking, appalling Analogous words: *ghastly, grisly, gruesome, macabre, grim, lurid: *sinister, baleful, malign … New Dictionary of Synonyms
frightful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) very unpleasant, serious, or shocking. 2) informal terrible; awful. DERIVATIVES frightfully adverb frightfulness noun … English terms dictionary
frightful — [[t]fra͟ɪtfʊl[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Frightful means very bad or unpleasant. [OLD FASHIONED] My father was unable to talk about the war, it was so frightful. Syn: terrible 2) ADJ: ADJ n (emphasis) Frightful is used to emphasize the extent or degree… … English dictionary
frightful — frightfully, adv. frightfulness, n. /fruyt feuhl/, adj. 1. such as to cause fright; dreadful, terrible, or alarming: A frightful howl woke us. 2. horrible, shocking, or revolting: The storm did frightful damage. 3. Informal. unpleasant;… … Universalium
frightful — fright•ful [[t]ˈfraɪt fəl[/t]] adj. 1) such as to cause fright; dreadful, terrible, or alarming: a frightful explosion[/ex] 2) horrible, shocking, or revolting: The storm did frightful damage[/ex] 3) inf unpleasant; disagreeable: We had a… … From formal English to slang
frightful — adjective Full of that which causes fright; exciting alarm; impressing terror; shocking; as, a frightful chasm, or tempest; a frightful appearance. We wasted a frightful amount of money on renovations. Syn: terrible, dreadful, alarming, fearful,… … Wiktionary
