Fearsome

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪɹsəm/

Definitions

1. Causing intense fear or dread due to being formidable, intimidating, or capable of inflicting harm
2. Eliciting strong feelings of fear or apprehension because of being frightening, imposing, or potentially dangerous
3. Instilling terror or anxiety in others by appearing aggressive, menacing, or capable of causing harm

Etymology: "Fearsome" is a plain compound: "fear" plus the suffix "-some," which once meant "having a quality of" or "tending to." The suffix has the same ancestry as "same" and is cousin to the German "-sam," as in "furchtsam" (fearful). Its older form was "-sum" in Old English, and it appears in words like "handsome," "lonesome," and "wholesome," which all share the same pattern of a noun or adjective plus a sense of quality. The surprise lies in the German comparison. German "furchtsam" meant "fearful" and at one time also carried the sense "fearsome," so the two languages once expressed the same idea in nearly the same way. Today, English "fearsome" has pulled away from the timid sense of "fearful" and means "causing great fear," while German has left that sense to "furchtsam" itself.

Synonyms: terrifying, frightening, daunting

Antonyms: reassuring, comforting