Synonyms of frightening
36 similar words · 2 opposite words
Another word for frightening is terrifying. Other synonyms of frightening are horrific, fearful, alarming, hair-curling and horrifying. The opposite of frightening is nonfrightening.
Synonyms and similar words for frightening
adjectiveMore synonyms
- affreuxDreadful; disturbing or frightening.
- alarmingCausing apprehension, fear or alarm; frightening.
- spine-tinglingScary, exciting or exhilarating.
- appalling
- awful
- eldritchUnearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.
- butt-clenching informalSynonym of buttock-clenching.
- buttock-clenching informalSuspenseful, frightening; causing anxiety.
- dreadful
- fearfulFrightening; causing fear.
- flaysome British, dialectalTerrifying; frightful.
- flesh-crawlingSynonym of skin-crawling.
- formidable
- freaky slangScary; frightening.
- frightensomeCharacterized by frightening; inducing fear; scary.
- frightful
- ghastly
- ghostlySpooky; frightening.
- grislyHorrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying.
- hair-curlingExciting, astonishing, frightening, or horrifying.
- hair-raisingCausing fear or anxiety; scary.
- horrible
- horridCausing horror or dread.
- horrificCausing horror; horrifying.
- horrifyingTending to inspire horror; that horrifies; horrific.
- horripilating
- pulse-poundingThat increases the heartbeat rate, especially as a result of excitement or fear.
- scaring
- scaryCausing fear or anxiety.
- shocking
- skin-crawlingHorrifying or nauseating, so as to cause a creeping sensation in a person's skin.
- terrible
- terrifyingFrightening or intimidating.
- terrorsomeCharacterised or marked by terror; frightful; frightening.
- buggish obsoleteFrightening; like a bugbear.
- dismayful obsoleteTerrifying.
Opposite of frightening
adjectiveMore antonyms
- nonfrighteningNot frightening.
- unfrighteningNot frightening.
Meaning of frightening
- adjective Causing fear; or capable of causing fear; scary.
- adjective Awful, terrible, very bad.
frightening in other languages
Questions about synonyms of frightening
- What is another word for frightening?
- Frightening has 36 synonyms on Word.ws, such as terrifying, horrific, fearful, alarming, hair-curling, horrifying, pulse-pounding and horrid.
- What is the opposite of frightening?
- The opposite of frightening is nonfrightening.
- What does frightening mean?
- Frightening means causing fear; or capable of causing fear; scary.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: frightening (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of frightening.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/frightening. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.