1
as in formidable
causing fear
at night the child would always imagine that there were fearsome monsters lurking under his bed
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2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
after working all afternoon in the hot sun, I had developed a fearsome thirst
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3
as in timid
easily frightened
the more fearsome of the two children would only peer at the guests from a distance
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fearsome
Streams were dammed, diseases struck and the American bullfrog, a fearsome predator and the largest native frog east of the Rocky Mountains, was introduced.
—
Nathan Rott, NPR, 19 July 2025
There just before the Spanish Conquest, fearsome Indigenous community the Pastos, regrouping in the Andes’ Western Cordillera, stopped Inca empire expansion northwards in its tracks.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 15 July 2025
There, German artillery fired fearsome minenwerfer shells, which weighed a hundred and forty pounds, and invaded the soldiers’ dreams.
—Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
Then her fearsome, peerless backhand wouldn’t go in.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Nathan Rott, NPR, 19 July 2025
There just before the Spanish Conquest, fearsome Indigenous community the Pastos, regrouping in the Andes’ Western Cordillera, stopped Inca empire expansion northwards in its tracks.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 15 July 2025
There, German artillery fired fearsome minenwerfer shells, which weighed a hundred and forty pounds, and invaded the soldiers’ dreams.
—Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
Then her fearsome, peerless backhand wouldn’t go in.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearsome
Adjective
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The bullpen, led by closer Edwin Díaz, looks formidable.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
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Minnesota Twins – Faced with formidable financial worries, the former home of Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, and Jim Kaat spent the deadline dumping salaries.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The team observed laser emissions in two distinct wavelengths for all color regions of the feathers' eyespots, with the green color regions emitting the most intense laser light.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
30 July 2025
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Sports, especially intense ones like rafting, invoke our competitive spirit.—
Shani Harmon,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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This has made the White Sox timid to deal the outfielder.—
Hunter Mulholland,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 July 2025
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Bangladesh needs a new economic plan and the interim government may be too timid to pursue it.—
Vasuki Shastry,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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As global anxiety builds, Luna must face not just the predator in the desert but the terrifying possibility that humanity’s end is hurtling toward them from the stars.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
25 July 2025
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But a week later, what had been named the Dragon Bravo Fire hit a patch of fuel and took on a terrifying character in new gusts of wind, surrounding overwhelmed firefighters on a helipad and heading with unstoppable force to the south.—
Tom Zoellner,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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In the barrios of the American Southwest, chola girls perfected their look with dark lip liner, oversized flannels, and nameplate earrings, styling themselves with fierce precision that both declared loyalty and warded off erasure.—
Alexandra Jane,
Essence,
31 July 2025
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In the last few years, fierce controversies have often been sparked by commercials, with commentators seemingly viewing ad campaigns as the battleground for a never-ending culture war.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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The scary thing about Jefferson's injury is that he was also kept out of multiple games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
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Dad is the one who's going to pretend to be a predator stalking the child and pretending to be a big, scary monster.—
Hannah Nwoko,
Parents,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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One of the most effectively frightening gags in the movie is little more than an actor in ghoulish makeup tunneling under a bedsheet.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
31 July 2025
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And frightening, even to the leaders around Xi Jinping in Beijing.—
Kerry Brown,
Time,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Critics question whether a battery swap network—capital intensive, dependent on fleet adoption, and distributed across so many different markets—can scale profitably.—
Clay Chandler,
Fortune,
19 July 2025
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An intensive moisturiser that delivers maximum hydration, Revision’s DermProtect Barrier Defense™ also replenishes natural lipids, and enhances moisture retention.—
Angela Lei,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fearsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearsome. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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