frightening
/ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ ˈfrīt-niŋ/ (ame, mw)
frightening — adjective
- frighteningpositive
- more frighteningcomparative
- most frighteningsuperlative
1. Something that is frightening makes you feel afraid or worried that something ba
Something that is frightening makes you feel afraid or worried that something bad might happen.
The thunderstorm was so frightening that seven-year-old Hui hid under her bed.
so + adj + that clause
Walking home alone through the empty streets at midnight felt frightening to the young nurse.
Aarav found the horror movie too frightening and left the cinema after twenty minutes.
It was frightening to watch the old library collapse during the earthquake.
The dark basement was frightening for the children even with all the lights on.
- scary
more informal and common in everyday conversation; slightly less intense
- terrifying
stronger — causes extreme or overwhelming fear
- alarming
suggests sudden worry or concern rather than deep fear; often used for news or statistics
- spooky
informal; suggests an eerie or supernatural kind of fear
- reassuring
calms anxiety and restores confidence
- comforting
soothes fear and provides emotional warmth
文法句型
be + frightening
find + sth/sb + frightening
it + be + frightening + to-infinitive
so + frightening + that-clause
frightening + for + person
用法筆記
Commonly used with intensifiers (very, really, quite, extremely). Frequently appears in the pattern 'find + object + frightening' and in extraposed structures like 'It is frightening to [verb].' Less intense than terrifying but stronger than scary (informal).