Nearby Words

fearfulness

[feer-fuhl] Origin

fear·ful

[feer-fuhl]
adjective
1.
causing or apt to cause fear; frightening: a fearful apparition.
2.
feeling fear, dread, apprehension, or solicitude: fearful for his life; fearful lest he commit suicide.
3.
full of awe or reverence: fearful of the Lord.
4.
showing or caused by fear: fearful behavior.
5.
extreme in size, intensity, or badness: a fearful head cold; fearful poverty.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English ferful. See fear, -ful

fear·ful·ly, adverb
fear·ful·ness, noun
o·ver·fear·ful, adjective
o·ver·fear·ful·ly, adverb
o·ver·fear·ful·ness, noun
EXPAND
pre·fear·ful, adjective
pre·fear·ful·ly, adverb
un·fear·ful, adjective
un·fear·ful·ly, adverb
un·fear·ful·ness, noun
COLLAPSE

fearful, fearsome.


2. afraid, timid, timorous, apprehensive, uneasy, distrustful; solicitous, anxious, concerned, worried.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Fearfulness is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
fearful (ˈfɪəfʊl)
 
adj
1.  having fear; afraid
2.  causing fear; frightening
3.  informal very unpleasant or annoying: a fearful cold
 
'fearfulness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fearful
mid-14c., causing fear, from fear + -ful. Meaning full of fear, timid (now rare) is from mid-14c. As a mere emphatic, from 1630s. Related: Fearfully; fearfulness-.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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