fright

American  

[frahyt] / fraɪt /

noun

1. sudden and extreme fear; a sudden terror.

   Synonyms:

   alarm, consternation, dismay

2. a person or thing of shocking, grotesque, or ridiculous appearance.

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verb (used with object)

1. to frighten.

fright British  

/ fraɪt /

noun

1. sudden intense fear or alarm

2. a sudden alarming shock

3. informal a horrifying, grotesque, or ludicrous person or thing

   she looks a fright in that hat

4. to become frightened

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verb

1. a poetic word for frighten

Synonym Usage

See terror.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-frighted
  adjective
• unfrighted
  adjective

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

Renting horror flicks from Blockbuster like "Fright Night" and "Tales from the Crypt."

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2023

Valley Fright Nights, a trio of haunted houses at Pierce College, opened in late July.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2022

Night Fright flew two missions on D-Day in 1944 and was hit more than 100 times.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2022

Flock Fright plans to open a new office in Chicago later this year.

From Reuters • Oct. 20, 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

Related Words

• consternation
• dismay
• horror
• panic
• trepidation