adjective causing fear or terror; scary
The patient's frightening hallucinations were a result of their trauma.
The prognosis was frightening, but the patient remained hopeful.
The firefighters faced a frightening situation when the building caught fire.
The power of the hurricane was truly frightening to witness.
The movie was so frightening that I couldn't sleep for days.
The ghostly apparition was both eerie and frightening.
The plot twist in the novel was both unexpected and frightening.
People with arachnophobia find spiders to be particularly frightening.
Writers may use the word 'frightening' to describe a suspenseful or scary scene in a novel or screenplay.
Psychologists may use the term 'frightening' when discussing phobias or traumatic experiences with their clients.