frightful
English
Alternative forms
- frightfull (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English frightful (“afraid”), from Old English forhtfull (“fainthearted, timorous”). Equivalent to fright + -ful.
Pronunciation
- enPR: frīt′fəl, IPA(key): /ˈfɹaɪtfəl/
- Hyphenation: fright‧ful
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
frightful (comparative more frightful, superlative most frightful)
- (obsolete) Full of fright, whether
- Afraid, frightened.
- Timid, fearful, easily frightened.
- 1613, William Browne, Britannia's Pastorals:
- See how the frightful herds run from the wood.
- Full of something causing fright, whether
- Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming.
- (hyperbolic) Unpleasant, dreadful, awful (also used as an intensifier).
- 1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1:
- Francis Urquhart: What a frightful little man. Where do they find them these days?
Tim Stamper: God knows. If I had a dog like that, I'd shoot it.
Francis Urquhart: Well, yes. Quite.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:frightening
- See Thesaurus:bad
Derived terms
Translations
full of fright
full of that which causes fright
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adverb
frightful (comparative more frightful, superlative most frightful)
- (dialect) Frightfully; very.
- 1926, Charles Edward Montague, Rough Justice, page 87:
- You had a lot of frightful good quotes. You must know half the books that there are.
- 1942, Philip Gibbs, The Long Alert, page 200:
- It's a frightful long time, and I don't get many letters from him.
- 2018, Abbie Williams, Way Back:
- But we ain't found a soul what knows you, honey-love, I am so frightful sorry to say.
References
- Webster's, "frightful", 1913.
- Oxford English Dictionary, "frightful, adj.", 1898.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- frigtful
Etymology
From Old English forhtful; equivalent to fright + -ful.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfrixtˌful/
Descendants
- English: frightful
References
- “frightful, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.
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