Meaning & use
fearsome
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Looking or sounding so powerful or threatening that people are afraid of it.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a fearsome dog; the dog looked fearsome.
Patterns
- a fearsome reputation
- look fearsome
The fearsome dragon guarded the entrance to the cave.
The coach had a fearsome reputation for making players run until they dropped.
A fearsome roar came from the next room.
adjectivebefore a noun
Extremely difficult or large, in a way that makes you worry.
Grammar: Often before nouns like task, challenge or opponent.
Patterns
- a fearsome task
- a fearsome challenge
Climbing the mountain in winter would be a fearsome challenge.
They faced the fearsome task of rebuilding the town after the flood.
The team will meet a fearsome opponent in the final.
Word forms
| comparative | more fearsome |
|---|---|
| superlative | most fearsome |
Common combinations
- fearsome reputation
- The pirate captain had a fearsome reputation.
- fearsome opponent
- The champion is a fearsome opponent in the ring.
- fearsome beast
- Legends tell of a fearsome beast in the forest.
- fearsome sight
- The storm clouds were a fearsome sight.
- look fearsome
- The warriors looked fearsome in their masks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frightening
- Frightening is plain and common, while fearsome adds a sense of awe or strength.
- formidable
- Formidable stresses that something is so strong or skilled that it is hard to deal with and can be admired, not always feared.
- terrifying
- Terrifying describes extreme fear in the person experiencing it, and fearsome focuses on how the thing looks or acts.
- intimidating
- Intimidating describes something that makes you feel nervous or inferior, often a person or place, and has less of the sense of danger than fearsome.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fearsome or fearful?
fearsome vs fearful
Fearful describes someone who feels afraid, while fearsome describes something that causes fear in others. A fearful child hides from a fearsome dog.
Practice
The villagers were afraid of the old general because he had a ____ temper and a huge voice.
Choose one answer.
Fearsome describes something that makes others afraid. Fearful would mean the general himself was frightened, which is the opposite perspective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fearsome”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.