Frightening meaning in English

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Definition

frightening: shocking, scary, terrifying adjective
The amount of money they spent on the wedding is frightening. $15,000 for a juggler seems a bit excessive.

UK: The amount of money they spent on the wedding is frightening.
US: You don't frighten me with your jedi mind tricks.

Examples

  • "Moira : A frightening glimpse of things to come, Brent."
  • "The simple fact that Mr. Quincy keeps four different types of water in his office surprised me, but that he has memorized the daily menu of your cafeteria is a little bit frightening."
  • "The second part of the scam, and the part which is helping it to spread at such frightening speeds, is the attachment."
Exercise 1
Select the sentence(s) which use(s) the term "afraid" correctly.

There may be more than one correct answer!
Select the sentence(s) which use(s) the term "afraid" correctly.

There may be more than one correct answer!
This sentence uses the term "afraid" correctly. "To be afraid of something" is to be "frightened" or "scared of it". In the dialogue, Horatio says that "Americans... are afraid of beauty". Another example: "Don't be afraid, little boy. I just want to be your friend".
This is not correct. The term "afraid" can only be used to describe living beings, not films. We can describe horror films as "scary" or "frightening".
This is a correct use of the term "afraid". Here, the speaker is expressing their "regret", or saying that the situation is "unfortunate". This construction is used in the dialogue, when Susie says "I'm afraid it's not just the Americans who aren't happy". Another example: "I'm afraid the cricket match has been cancelled due to bad weather".

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