# frightening

Pronunciation: say "FRY-tuh-ning" /ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/

## Adjective

1. Causing fear, or having the power to cause fear; scary.
   - Simple: Making someone feel afraid, scared, or nervous.
   - _The accident gave her a frightening sense of how close she came to death._
   - _Survivors described the earthquake as the most frightening event of their lives._
3. Extremely bad; awful or terrible.
   - Simple: Very bad or terrible.
   - _The company's finances were in a frightening state after the scandal._
   - _Her handwriting is so frightening that no one can read it._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of frighten. — present participle and gerund of frighten
   - Simple: Present participle of frighten. Use this form for something that is scaring someone as it happens.
   - _The storm was frightening coastal residents into evacuating early._
   - _Frightening away predators is one purpose of the bird's bright coloring._

## Origin

Formed from the verb "frighten" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/frightening (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).