fearfully

fearfully — adverb

1. doing something while feeling or showing fear, nervousness, or concern about wha

1.副詞B1
釋義

doing something while feeling or showing fear, nervousness, or concern about what might happen

例句

The little girl clung fearfully to her mother's hand as the thunder roared outside.

verb + fearfully with physical action (cling)

Eshe looked around fearfully when she heard footsteps in the dark alley.

fearfully with looking / scanning verb

同義詞
  • nervously

    focuses on the feeling of worry rather than the direct emotion of fear

  • timidly

    suggests a lack of confidence or courage, not always rooted in immediate fear

  • apprehensively

    emphasises worry about something that may happen in the future

  • anxiously

    a more general term for worry or unease, not necessarily tied to a specific danger

反義詞
  • fearlessly

    doing something without any fear at all

  • boldly

    showing confidence and a willingness to take risks

文法句型

verb + fearfully

fearfully + verb

用法筆記

Commonly pairs with verbs of movement or perception (creep, stare, look, speak, cling) to show that the action is done with fear.

常見錯誤

❌She walked fearlessly into the dark room' (when meaning she was scared).
✅She walked fearfully into the dark room.
💡fearlessly means without fear; fearfully means with fear.

2. to emphasise that a quality exists to a very high degree, especially an unpleasa

2.副詞B2
釋義

to emphasise that a quality exists to a very high degree, especially an unpleasant or intense one

例句

The tickets were fearfully expensive, so we stayed home to watch a movie instead.

fearfully + adjective of cost

During the heatwave in Tokyo last July, the air was fearfully hot even after sunset.

fearfully + adjective (weather, with time-place context)

同義詞
  • extremely

    neutral and widely usable across formal and informal contexts

  • terribly

    similar intensity but carries a slightly negative connotation

  • dreadfully

    more old-fashioned or British in tone, often used for emphasis in mild complaints

反義詞
  • slightly

    indicates a small degree of a quality

  • barely

    suggests hardly reaching a certain level

文法句型

fearfully + adjective

用法筆記

Nearly always appears before an adjective. Common adjective partners include expensive, difficult, hot, loud, cold, and high. This sense is more informal than using 'extremely'.

常見錯誤

❌It was fearfully a long journey' (adverb before article).
✅It was a fearfully long journey.
💡fearfully modifies the adjective 'long', not the noun 'journey'.