frightfulness
Quality of dread
Frightfulness is the quality of being frightening or terrible.
The word saw specific use for German military policy in World War I—deliberate terrorism against civilian populations to break enemy morale: The zeppelin raids were acts of calculated frightfulness.
This historical sense has faded, leaving the more general meaning: the frightfulness of the storm, the sheer frightfulness of his appearance.
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
terrorize · paralyze · fearmongering · hysteria · scare · alarm · startle · horror-struck
Disturbing, death-obsessed
- ghoulishFascinated by death grotesquely
- gruesomeCausing horror and disgust
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- chillingCausing fear or cold
creepy · haunting · morbid · grotesque · monstrous · nightmarish · sinister · uncanny
Unforgivable mass cruelty
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
- crueltyDeliberate harm-causing disposition
ruthlessness · mercilessness · inhumanity · intimidation · reprisal · coercion · massacre · devastation
Nervous anticipation of trouble
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
- uneaseMild persistent worry
worry · misgiving · nervousness · disquiet · restlessness · jitters · heebie-jeebies · pessimism
Intensely excessive in force
- extremeFurthest from moderate
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- acuteIntensely severe or perceptive
- intenseExtreme in degree
profound · powerful · stark · vivid · piercing · excruciating · unbearable · insufferable
panic
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
shock · terrorize · paralyze · fearmongering · hysteria · scare · alarm · startle · horror-struck · blood-curdling
macabre
Disturbing, death-obsessed
chilling · creepy · haunting · morbid · grotesque · monstrous · nightmarish · sinister · uncanny · eldritch
atrocity
Unforgivable mass cruelty
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
cruelty · ruthlessness · mercilessness · inhumanity · intimidation · reprisal · coercion · massacre · devastation · destruction
apprehension
Nervous anticipation of trouble
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
unease · worry · misgiving · nervousness · disquiet · restlessness · jitters · heebie-jeebies · pessimism · gloom
overwhelming
Intensely excessive in force
intense · profound · powerful · stark · vivid · piercing · excruciating · unbearable · insufferable · oppressive
threatening
Expressing intent to harm
- menacingConveying threat or danger
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- intimidatingInspiring fear or unease
daunting · hostile · baleful · dire · grim · sinister · dangerous · perilous · looming · formidable
- horrorshorror, dread, terror, dreadfulness, terribleness
frightfulnesspleasantness
Quality of being agreeable
delightfulness · wonderfulness · loveliness · cheerfulness · joyfulness
frightfulnessattractiveness
Pleasing quality that draws
appeal · charm · desirability · agreeableness · allurement
fright, frighten, frightening, frightened, frightful, frightfully, unfrightened, affright, affrighted