different between frightening vs eerie

English

Etymology

frighten +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?a?t?n??/, /?f?a?tn??/
• Hyphenation: fright?en?ing

Adjective

frightening (comparative more frightening, superlative most frightening)

1. Causing fear; of capable of causing fear; scary.

   Riding the rollercoaster was a frightening experience.

2. (figuratively) Awful, terrible, very bad.

Synonyms

• Thesaurus:frightening

Derived terms

• frighteningly

Translations

Verb

frightening

1. present participle of frighten

   The scientist was frightening the timid children.

English

Alternative forms

• eery

Etymology

From Middle English eri (“fearful”), from Old English earg (“cowardly, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *argaz. Akin to Scots ergh, argh from the same Old English source. Doublet of argh.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /???i/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /????i/
• Rhymes: -??ri
• Homophone: Erie

Adjective

eerie (comparative eerier, superlative eeriest)

1. Strange, weird, fear-inspiring.

   Synonyms: creepy, spooky
2. (Scotland) Frightened, timid.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:strange

Derived terms

• eerily (adverb)
• eeriness (noun)
• eerisome

Translations