fear·ful /ˈfɪəfəl $ ˈfɪr-/ ●○○ adjectiveadj 1 formalFRIGHTENED frightened that something bad might happen 担心的,害怕的 a shy and fearful child 一个羞涩、胆怯的小孩
fearful of People are fearful of rising crime in the area. 人们担心这个地区犯罪率上升。
fearful that Officials are fearful that the demonstrations will cause new violence. 官员们担心示威游行会引发新的暴力事件。
► see thesaurus at frightened 2 British EnglishBrEBAD extremely bad 极坏的 SYN awful, terrible The room was in a fearful mess. 房间里一片狼藉。
3 [only before noun] writtenFRIGHTENED very frightening 骇人的 SYN terrifying a fearful creature 一种骇人的生物
—fearfulness noun [uncountableU]