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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fearsome Even without Bosa, 20 sacks is a pathetic number for a franchise that through the years has included fearsome edge players such as Tommy Hart, Cedrick Hardman, Charles Haley and Aldon Smith. —
Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026 Two years after being bitten by a bat onstage, Taylor Momsen is still fighting off some fearsome critters. —Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 The Gophers might have a fearsome foursome of defensive ends going into the 2026 season. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026 Meanwhile, Lois is just as fearsome and controlling as ever. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026 Two years after being bitten by a bat onstage, Taylor Momsen is still fighting off some fearsome critters. —Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 The Gophers might have a fearsome foursome of defensive ends going into the 2026 season. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2026 Meanwhile, Lois is just as fearsome and controlling as ever. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fearsome
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearsome
Adjective
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Hathaway gets the most fun part to play in this formidable ensemble, starring as egotistical actress Daphne Kluger, who starts as the mark but ends up enlisting among the thieves.— Chris Feil, Vulture, 1 May 2026
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Hekt’s debut album heralds a union between the left-field pop scene of his native Copenhagen and the influential Glasgow label Numbers, whose formidable run of 2010s releases—including several landmark SOPHIE singles—has left a neon imprint on the new Danish vanguard.— Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 1 May 2026
Adjective
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By the final showdown, the production has made use of every bit of stage space, with sensational flying sequences (choreographed by Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant) that allow the vampires to float, hover, and—in one especially intense moment—dive from that bridge.— Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
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The moment has sparked an outpouring of empathy, with many pointing to the intense pressure drivers face on the job.— Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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And also the anticipatory obedience by a lot of these news organizations who are more timid.— Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026
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The film follows Colin (Harry Melling), a timid man who is swept off of his feet by Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), an impossibly handsome biker, who takes him on as his submissive.— Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This isn’t the terrifying Frost of modernist criticism—although the poem is fully aware of darkness, and its world, on the cusp of World War I, like ours, certainly had its terrors.— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
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Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.— Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Along the way, there have been fast times, big doping busts and fierce corporate competition for the fastest humans in history.— Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 26 Apr. 2026
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Pre-marketing fight lands in court The fiercest pushback to Compass’s marketing strategy came from Zillow, the country’s largest home-search platform.— Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Yes, scarier than the strange dialogue in Reminders of Him.— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2026
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However, there was a really scary moment in a Game 4 thriller when one player took a skate blade straight to the face.— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Her Dispatch from the scene captured the moments of frightening confusion as high-ranking members of the government were whisked away from the Washington Hilton, where the event was held.— Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2026
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The ultimate scene packs a punch here — without spoiling things, Abigail Onwunali is particularly powerful in a role that Wilson saves till the eleventh hour, and Boone goes to places at once frightening and devastating.— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2026
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The intensive, weeklong building sessions named after former President Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn have constructed roughly 5,000 homes in 14 countries since 1984.— ABC News, ABC News, 1 May 2026
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The others, though some needed intensive treatments, are stable, the zoo said.— Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fearsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/fearsome. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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