► frightening making you feel frightened: · Being held at gunpoint had been the most frightening moment of his life.· The experience was very frightening.
► scary especially spoken frightening. Scary is less formal than frightening and is very common in everyday English: · The movie was really scary.· There were some scary moments.
► chilling frightening, especially because violence, cruelty, or danger is involved: · a chilling tale of revenge, murder and madness· The court heard chilling details about the attack.
► spooky frightening and strange, especially because something involves ghosts or powers that people do not understand: · The forest is really spooky in the dark.· a spooky coincidence· spooky stories
► creepy informal frightening in a way that makes you feel nervous, especially when you are not sure exactly why – used especially about places, people, and feelings: · This place is really creepy. Let’s get out of here.· a creepy guy· Do you know that creepy feeling when you're sure someone’s there but you can’t see or hear anything?
► eerie especially literary strange and frightening: · There was an eerie silence immediately after the bomb went off.· an eerie light· an eerie feeling
► intimidating making you feel frightened, nervous, or lacking in confidence: · Big schools can be an intimidating place for young children.· Giving evidence in court is often a rather intimidating experience.· the intimidating presence of a large number of soldiers
► menacing frightening because you think someone is going to hurt you, even though they have not said or done anything violent – used especially about someone’s expression or voice: · The woman had a very menacing look.· ‘I’d like to have a word with you outside,’ he said in a menacing tone.
making you feel worried and not confident: 
Some people find interview situations very intimidating.► see thesaurus at frightening