different between fearful vs tremendous

English

Alternative forms

• fearefull (obsolete)
• fearfull (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English ferful, fervol, equivalent to fear +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??f?l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f??f?l/
• Rhymes: -???f?l
• Hyphenation: fear?ful

Adjective

fearful (comparative fearfuller or fearfuler or more fearful, superlative fearfullest or fearfulest or most fearful)

1. Frightening.
2. Tending to fear; timid.

   a fearful boy

3. (dated) Terrible; shockingly bad.
4. (now rare) Frightened; filled with terror.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     Those two great champions did attonce pursew / The fearefull damzell with incessant payns […]

Synonyms

• (frightened): frightened, timid, timorous
• See also Thesaurus:afraid and Thesaurus:cowardly

Translations

Adverb

fearful (comparative more fearful, superlative most fearful)

1. (dialect) Extremely; fearfully.

Further reading

• fearful in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• fearful in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Lauffer

English

Etymology

From Latin tremendus (“fearful, terrible”), gerundive of trem? (“to tremble”), + -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t???m?nd?s/
• (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /t???m?nd?s/
• Rhymes: -?nd?s
• Hyphenation: tre?men?dous

Adjective

tremendous (comparative more tremendous, superlative most tremendous)

1. awe-inspiring; terrific.
2. Notable for its size, power, or excellence.

   Van Beethoven's ninth symphony is a tremendous piece of music.

3. Extremely large (in amount, extent, degree, etc.) or great

   There was a tremendous outpouring of support.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:gigantic

Derived terms

• tremendously
• tremendousness

Translations

Trivia

One of four common words ending in -dous, which are hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, and tremendous.

References