3 syllables: fright, en, ing. Stress on fright.
FREYE-tuh-ning
/ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/
frightening is pronounced FREYE-tuh-ning (/ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/). It has three syllables (fright-en-ing), with the stress on "fright". Frightening is an adjective describing something that causes fear or dread. It often conveys a strong emotional response and can refer to both real and imagined dangers. The word emphasizes intensity, not merely mild scare, and is commonly used to describe scenes, events, or people that evoke alarm or fright.
Frightening is an adjective describing something that causes fear or dread. It often conveys a strong emotional response and can refer to both real and imagined dangers. The word emphasizes intensity, not merely mild scare, and is commonly used to describe scenes, events, or people that evoke alarm or fright.
"The storm’s jagged lightning was frightening to the sailors."
"She gave a frightening account of the incident, leaving everyone shaken."
"The film had a frightening atmosphere that lingered after the credits."
Phonetically: /ˈfraɪtənɪŋ/. Primary stress on FRY as in 'fright', followed by a schwa-like reduction in the middle syllable, then the final -ing. Start with a long, high-front vowel /aɪ/ in 'fright'. Your tongue should rise toward the hard palate for /fraɪ/; lips are neutral to slightly spread. The middle syllable is a quick, unstressed /tən/ with a soft 't' and a light schwa. End with /ɪŋ/. Audio reference: listen for the crisp onset /fraɪ/ and the final nasal /-ŋ/.
Common errors include turning /fraɪ/ into a shorter /fraɪ/ with reduced vowel quality, misplacing the /t/ as a flap or d-like sound, and overemphasizing the middle /ən/ making it /fright-uh-n/ rather than a quick unstressed /tən/. To correct: keep /fraɪ/ intact with a crisp /t/ release, compress the middle into a short /tən/ without fully articulating a separate /ə/ vowel, then end with a clear /-ɪŋ/.
In US and UK, the initial /fraɪ/ remains similar, but US often has a firmer rhotic quality on the vowel, while UK may show a slightly shorter /ɪŋ/ and a marginally less pronounced /ɪ/ in the final syllable. Australian speakers typically retain /ə/ reductions in unstressed vowels but maintain the /fraɪ/ nucleus. Non-rhotic accents still produce /ˈfraɪtənɪŋ/ but with subtle vowel whitening and less vocalic coloring in the second syllable.
The challenge lies in the diphthong /aɪ/ in the stressed syllable, the unreleased or lightly released /t/ between the diphthong and the unstressed /ən/, and the final /ɪŋ/ that often merges with preceding schwa. Speakers may also overemphasize the middle syllable or misplace the stress when speaking quickly. Practice with slow tempo, careful /aɪ/ formation, then blend into /tənɪŋ/ without adding extra syllable weight.
A practical tip is to hold the /aɪ/ nucleus slightly longer but immediately lead into a clipped /t/ to avoid a doubled syllable. Visualize a brief internal pause between /fraɪ/ and /tə/ even though it’s a single word. This helps prevent a mis-timed /t/ and keeps the sequence crisp: /fraɪˈtən/ then /-ɪŋ/.
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Frightening derives from fright, rooted in the Old English word frīht (‘shaking with fear’), which is cognate with the Old Norse frygð. Fright originally referred to a sudden fear or alarm; the -en suffix converts the noun into an adjective indicating something that causes fear. The modern sense of something that induces fear formed by the 17th–18th centuries, evolving from a general condition of fear to a descriptive property. The verb frighten entered the language earlier, with -ening attached to form adjectives describing that quality or state in things or situations. First known uses appear in early modern English texts, often to describe ominous events, portents, or dangerous circumstances that arouse heightened fear in audiences or characters.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "frightening" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "frightening" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "frightening"
-ing sounds
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