frighten

[frahyt-n]

verb (used with object)

1. to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.

   Synonyms: intimidate, dismay, startle, shock

2. to drive (usually followed by away, off, etc.) by scaring.

   to frighten away pigeons from the roof.

verb (used without object)

1. to become frightened.

   a timid child who frightens easily.

frighten

/ ˈfraɪtən /

verb

1. to cause fear in; terrify; scare

2. to drive or force to go (away, off, out, in, etc) by making afraid

Other Word Forms

• frighteningly adverb
• frightening adjective
• frightened adjective
• frightenable adjective
• frightener noun
• nonfrightening adjective
• nonfrighteningly adverb
• overfrighten verb
• unfrightening adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of frighten¹

First recorded in 1660–70; fright + -en ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see scare out of one's wits.

Synonym Study

Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals. To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, especially that arising from the apprehension of physical harm: to frighten someone by a sudden noise. To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger: to alarm someone by a scream. To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger: Horror movies really scare me. To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear: to terrify a city by lawless acts. To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control: His marauding armies terrorized the countryside. To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror: The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.

Example Sentences

Thomas, the gentler of the two, draws most of Ray’s abuse, and it shapes him into a meek and easily frightened being.

From Salon

She was also a severe asthmatic, always followed by a "frightened minion carrying her asthma inhaler, as though it were a crown, or a sceptre of some sort".

From BBC

"A lot of people were crying around me. They were very frightened. I was trying to calm them down."

From BBC

“This is very frightening, but I accept full responsibility for everything with my car accident,” Huger tearfully told producers.

From Los Angeles Times

McCusker said the amount of fear that people were living in at the moment was "quite frightening".

From BBC

Related Words

• agitate 
• alarm 
• astound 
• awe 
• daunt 
• demoralize 
• deter 
• disconcert 
• discourage 
• dishearten 
• dismay 
• faze 
• horrify 
• intimidate 
• perturb 
• petrify 
• startle 
• terrify 
• terrorize 
• unnerve