frightful

frightful
    adj 1: provoking horror; "an atrocious automobile accident"; "a
           frightful crime of decapitation"; "an alarming, even
           horrifying, picture"; "war is beyond all words horrible"-
           Winston Churchill; "an ugly wound" [syn: {atrocious},
           {frightful}, {horrifying}, {horrible}, {ugly}]
    2: extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact; "in a
       frightful hurry"; "spent a frightful amount of money" [syn:
       {frightful}, {terrible}, {awful}, {tremendous}]
    3: extremely distressing; "fearful slum conditions"; "a
       frightful mistake" [syn: {fearful}, {frightful}]
    

Frightful \Fright"ful\, a.
   1. Full of fright; affrighted; frightened. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            See how the frightful herds run from the wood. --W.
                                                  Browne.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Full of that which causes fright; exciting alarm;
      impressing terror; shocking; as, a frightful chasm, or
      tempest; a frightful appearance.

   Syn: Terrible; dreadful; alarming; fearful; terrific; awful;
        horrid; horrible; shocking.

   Usage: {Frightful}, {Dreadful}, {Awful}. These words all
          express fear. In frightful, it is a sudden emotion; in
          dreadful, it is deeper and more prolonged; in awful,
          the fear is mingled with the emotion of awe, which
          subdues us before the presence of some invisible
          power. An accident may be frightful; the approach of
          death is dreadful to most men; the convulsions of the
          earthquake are awful.
          [1913 Webster]
    

60 Moby Thesaurus words for "frightful":
      abhorrent, abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, awful,
      awing, chilling, daunting, deadly, deterrent, deterring,
      disagreeable, disconcerting, discouraging, disheartening,
      dismaying, disquieting, dreadful, fear-inspiring, fearful,
      fearsome, forbidding, formidable, foul, frightening, ghastly,
      grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific,
      horrifying, howling, loathsome, lurid, macabre, nasty, nauseating,
      nauseous, offensive, overawing, repelling, repugnant, repulsive,
      revolting, rousing, scaring, scary, shocking, startling, terrible,
      terrific, thumping, ugly, unspeakable, vile, whacking