scared

[skaird]

adjective

1. filled with fear, terror, or dread, often suddenly; frightened; alarmed.

   The doctor provided not only physical treatment but also moral guidance for scared patients with terminal diagnoses.

   I came into college as a scared freshman and left as a confident, competent adult.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scare.

Other Word Forms

• unscared adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scared¹

scare ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

He said his party had been criticised for making cuts, but was not "scared of making very, very hard decisions".

From BBC

She said: "I was so scared of what his future was now going to look like because he won't make that progress."

From BBC

A lawyer for the accusers added that they are scared of being sued or attacked because "nobody protected them the first time".

From BBC

Both girls have been left scared and upset by the attacks, which happened within two days of each other in October last year, Newport Crown Court heard.

From BBC

"My husband and I are scared of sending our children out to play unsupervised. What happens if a dog bites them? Who will be responsible?" says Chetna Singh, a resident of north Delhi.

From BBC

Related Words

• afraid 
• anxious 
• fearful 
• panicked www.thesaurus.com
• panicky www.thesaurus.com
• startled