fearful

fearful, fearsome

1. Fearful means ‘full of fear; frightened, apprehensive’, usually with reference to something specific, and is normally followed by of or by a clause introduced by that or lest:

• Eisenhower's official policy was to remain aloof, fearful that any direct intervention would make Castro a martyr —N. Miller, 1989

• He became very fearful of cars, buses and stairs, eventually shutting himself in his room, with the curtains drawn, for 14 months —Guardian, 1989

• She stood outside looking up at a creamy moon, fearful lest some bat might fly into her hair —Julian Barnes, 1990.

It is also used with reference to feelings and circumstances that are characterized by great fear:

• His mother had brought him up to hold priests in fearful reverence —G. McCaughrean, 1987

and in the weakened meaning ‘unpleasant’, with reference to things and situations:

• In fact it had been very hardbought, some of the winnings, taking fearful tolls of nerve, straining every atom of him —Nicolas Freeling, 1972

• When I approached the lower door I heard some fearful screams, groans and noises of struggling —Northern Echo, 2007.

2. Fearsome means ‘appalling or frightening, especially in appearance’:

• Ichiro continued to regard me with the most fearsome look —Kazuo Ishiguro, 1986

• Rhododendrons…have become a fearsome forest weed, preventing the growth of other plants —Outdoor Action, 1989

• Why do swans have this fearsome reputation? A friend who had a flock of them on his lake says they're gentle creatures —Daily Mail, 2005.