Word a Day
frightful
What does frightful mean?
frightful (adjective): genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you pronounce frightful?
/ˈfɹaɪtfəl/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does frightful come from?
From Middle English frightful (“afraid”), from Old English forhtfull (“fainthearted, timorous”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What are synonyms of frightful?
From Princeton WordNet 3.1.
Test yourself: do you know “frightful”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “frightful” mean?
likely or expected to happen or become
Not quite: that's what prospective means.
of the same origin as claimed; genuine
Not quite: that's what authentic means.
genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming
Right! That's what “frightful” means.
foreign, especially in an exciting way
Not quite: that's what exotic means.
Which word is closest in meaning to “frightful”?
artificial
Not quite: artificial means something else.
horrifying
Right!
regulatory
Not quite: regulatory means something else.
legitimate
Not quite: legitimate means something else.
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