fright
Americannoun
-
sudden and extreme fear; a sudden terror.
- Synonyms:
- alarm, consternation, dismay
-
a person or thing of shocking, grotesque, or ridiculous appearance.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
sudden intense fear or alarm
-
a sudden alarming shock
-
informal a horrifying, grotesque, or ludicrous person or thing
she looks a fright in that hat
-
to become frightened
verb
Synonym Usage
See terror.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fright
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English frytu, fyrhto; akin to German Furcht
Explanation
Fright is a feeling of fear, dread, or terror. You might scream in fright while watching a scary movie or riding a roller coaster. Some fright is so intense that it makes you jump; other fright is caused by anticipating something vaguely scary, like a trip to the dentist or an encounter with your mean neighbor after your baseball breaks her window. Although it's old fashioned, you can also use fright as a verb, to mean "cause fear." The Old English root of fright is fyrhtu, "fear, dread, trembling, or horrible sight."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“He’s been called the Christmas devil,” said Jeff Belanger, author of “The Fright Before Christmas,” a compendium of so-called “Yuletide monsters.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 25, 2025
The first, "Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas", was released in 1994, with memorable song titles like "Deck the Halls with Parts of Charlie" and "'Twas the Fright Before Christmas."
From Salon • Aug. 8, 2022
In 2012, the Walker family, owners of the Membury estate in Berkshire, enlisted expert help to find Night Fright as it had also flown from Membury airfield during the conflict.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2022
If you’d rather watch ‘Rocky Horror’ outdoors, look no further than the Ven’s Fright Fest.
From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2021
Isabella thought that maybe we should go to Fright by Night at Six Flags.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
