Master confusing words with ease
Fearful vs. Fearsome
Fearful
/ˈfɪəfəl/Examples:
She cast a fearful glance over her shoulder, sensing danger.His fearful anticipation of the exam kept him up all night.The forest felt eerie and fearful as the sun set slowly.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Fearsome
/ˈfɪəsəm/Examples:
The dragon's fearsome reputation spread far and wide.Even the bravest knights trembled in fearsome anticipation.Her fearsome glare silenced the room instantly.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Fearful typically describes a person who feels afraid, whereas fearsome describes something that causes fear.
- You can remember fearful as being full of fear since fear- relates to feeling fear and -ful implies being full of something.
- Fearsome has a -some ending, which usually describes something that has the quality of causing something, similar to words like tiresome or awesome.
- Fearful is often used to describe an emotional state of a person or sometimes an animal, while fearsome is used to describe something that incites fear in others.
- Relate fearful to internal experiences and fearsome to external characteristics or impacts.
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