Frightening
Frightening adjective - Causing fear.
Usage example: a truly frightening movie
Scary is a synonym for frightening in terrifying topic. In some cases you can use "Scary" instead an adjective "Frightening". informal substitute
Scary
Scary adjective - Causing fear.
Usage example: a scary movie that gave the child nightmares for weeks afterwards
Frightening is a synonym for scary. You can use "Frightening" instead the word "Scary" as an adjective or a noun. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- terrible and frightening
- terrible and scary
- dreadful and frightening
- dreadful and scary
- frightful and frightening
- frightful and scary
- horrendous and frightening
- horrendous and scary
- appalling and frightening
- appalling and scary
- shocking and frightening
- shocking and scary
- dire and frightening
- dire and scary
Both words in one sentence
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Nothing in the comic is any darker than some Disney Animated Canon films like Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, but some of the imagery and tones are rather scary and frightening for younger readers.
Source: What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? -
Though their leader, Boss, tries to be scary and frightening, and they hold a grudge against the Flying Forces for forcing them out of the skies, they are all seriously lacking in the bad guy department.
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It's only scary if you think the Cut and Paste Translation of 4Kids Entertainment are frightening instead of silly.
Source: Faux Horrific
Cite this Source
Scary and Frightening. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/frightening/scary
Frightening & Scary. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/frightening/scary>.
Scary or Frightening. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/frightening/scary.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "frightening" and "scary" have occurred on timeline