Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fearsome

/ˈfɪəsəm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.05 in modern English

Syllables: fear-some
IPA: /ˈfɪəsəm/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Frightening, especially in appearance.

adj

fearful, frightened

Archaic

Example Sentences

"fearsome reputation"
"fearsome weapon"
"truly fearsome"
"The warriors faced a fearsome enemy."
"She gave him a fearsome glare."
"The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which was the inspiration for the fearsome canine featured in the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones,” was a top predator that once roamed North America. (HBO shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)"

Etymology

Etymology tree English fear Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *somHós Proto-Germanic *samaz Proto-Germanic *-samaz Proto-West Germanic *-sam Old English -sum Middle English -som English -some English fearsome From fear + -some. Compare German furchtsam (“fearful”, obsolete also “fearsome”); this is more closely equivalent to English frightsome, however.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfɪəsəm/
British English: /ˈfɪəsəm/

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

more fearsome (comparative) most fearsome (superlative)

Derived Forms

fearsomely fearsomeness unfearsome

Phrases

fearsome critter

Frequently Paired Words

fear fearful

Synonyms

awful dire direful dread dreaded dreadful fearful frightening horrendous horrific terrible

Questions

How do you pronounce fearsome?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɪəsəm/.
What does fearsome mean?: Frightening, especially in appearance.
Where does fearsome come from?: Etymology tree English fear Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *somHós Proto-Germanic *samaz Proto-Germanic *-samaz Proto-West Germanic *-sam Old English -sum Middle English -som English -some English fearsome From fear + -some. Compare German furchtsam (“fearful”, obsolete also “fearsome”); this is more closely equivalent to English frightsome, however.

How to pronounce fearsome

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fearsome”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfɪəsəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fearsome”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fearsome” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.