Word · CEFR A2 · Frequency #5558
frightening
令人恐惧的；吓人的
causing fear; scary
- 1.
Causing fear; or capable of causing fear; scary.
引起恐惧的,令人害怕的
- 2.
Awful, terrible, very bad.
糟糕的,可怕的,非常坏的
糟糕的；极坏的；引起恐惧的,令人害怕的；糟糕的,可怕的,非常坏的；令人恐惧的；引起突然惊恐的
In use
The horror movie was so frightening that I couldn't sleep.
Walking alone in the dark forest at night is a frightening experience.
She let out a frightening scream when she saw the spider.
frightening + noun
frightening 作定语，修饰名词。
It was a frightening experience.
那是一次令人恐惧的经历。
be frightening to do sth
it 作形式主语，不定式是真正主语。
It is frightening to walk alone at night.
晚上独自走路很吓人。
find sth frightening
find + 宾语 + 形容词补足语。
Many people find horror movies frightening.
Connections
Collocations
- frightening experience
- 可怕的经历
- That was a frightening experience for the whole family.那对整个家庭来说是一次可怕的经历。
- frightening prospect
- 令人恐惧的前景
- The thought of losing his job was a frightening prospect.想到可能失业，前景令人恐惧。
- frightening speed
- 惊人的速度
- The disease spread with frightening speed through the population.这种疾病以惊人的速度在人群中传播。
- frightening thought
- 吓人的想法
- It's a frightening thought that we might never see them again.想到我们可能再也见不到他们，这个想法很吓人。
- frightening sight
- 可怕的景象
- The aftermath of the earthquake was a frightening sight.地震后的景象十分可怕。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
将 'fright' 联想为恐惧，'ning' 谐音 '狞'（狞笑），恐惧的狞笑令人毛骨悚然。
Context & Register
通常用于描述事物或情况令人恐惧，比较常见于书面和口语，在非正式场合中也可使用。
Grammar Note
可置于名词前作定语，或系动词后作表语；常用it作形式主语，后接that从句或不定式短语。
Pronunciation & Spelling
These four words share the ending /-tnɪŋ/ and the stressed vowel /aɪ/. Note that words like 'writing' (/ˈɹaɪtɪŋ/) or 'frightened' (/ˈfɹaɪtənd/) look similar but sound different due to the absence of the /n/ or the presence of a schwa.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.