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Fearful vs Fearless - What's the difference?

fearful | fearless |

As adjectives the difference between fearful and fearless

is that fearful is frightening while fearless is free from fear.

fearful

English

Alternative forms

* fearefull (obsolete) * fearfull (obsolete)

Adjective

(fearfuller)
  • Frightening.
  • Frightened, filled with terror.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.4:
    • Those two great champions did attonce pursew / The fearefull damzell with incessant payns [...].
  • Terrible.
  • Tending to fear.
    • fearful boy

    Synonyms

    * (frightened) frightened, timid, timorous * See also

    External links

    * *

    fearless

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Free from fear.

    • Derived terms

    * fearlessness * fearlessly

    See also

    * unafraid * intrepid * courageous