Frightful vs. Frightening — What's the Difference?

Frightful is used to describe something that is extremely unpleasant, shocking, or horrifying to the individual experiencing it. This term often carries a subjective implication, meaning that what is frightful to one person may not be so to another. Whereas, frightening pertains to the inherent quality of an object, situation, or event that causes fear, apprehension, or dread in anyone who encounters it, making it more objective in its application.

When something is described as frightful, it emphasizes the extreme nature of the experience or sensation, such as a frightful nightmare or a frightful scream, suggesting a level of intensity that is deeply unsettling. On the other hand, frightening focuses on the capacity to evoke fear, as in a frightening storm or a frightening prediction, highlighting the potential to disturb or alarm.

Frightful can also carry a broader range of connotations, extending to the extremely bad, severe, or intense, like frightful weather or a frightful accident, without necessarily inducing fear. Frightening, however, is more narrowly focused on the aspect of fear and its direct causes, emphasizing the reaction it seeks to evoke.

In everyday usage, frightful might be employed in more hyperbolic or exaggerated contexts to describe situations that are very bad or unpleasant, such as frightful manners or a frightful waste of resources. Frightening, conversely, retains a more consistent association with genuine fear and alarm, making it a choice for describing situations that are likely to inspire fear in a real sense.

The distinction between frightful and frightening also reflects in their adverbial forms, with 'frightfully' often used to intensify adjectives in a somewhat colloquial manner, e.g., frightfully expensive, whereas 'frighteningly' tends to preserve its literal meaning related to fear, e.g., frighteningly realistic.