scare
Americanverb (used with object)
-
scares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scared,
past participle, past
-
scaring
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
scares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scared,
past participle, past
-
scaring
present participle
noun
-
scares
plural
-
a sudden fright or alarm, especially with little or no reason.
I recently had a scare when my computer seemed to be malfunctioning, but it turned out to be nothing.
-
a time or condition of alarm or worry.
During the anthrax scare, people were leery of opening envelopes from addresses they didn't recognize.
verb phrase
-
scare away / off to frighten or alarm someone or something so much that they go away and stay away.
Business leaders felt the fuel tax would scare away consumers fearing higher electricity bills and rising gasoline costs.
The bee's sting isn't necessarily deadly, but it's painful enough to scare off predators.
-
scare up to obtain with effort; find or gather.
We want to renovate the kitchen, but first we'll need to scare up some money.
verb
-
to fill or be filled with fear or alarm
-
(tr; often foll by away or off) to drive (away) by frightening
-
informal (tr) (foll by up)
-
to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available
-
to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficulty
brewers need to scare up more sales
-
noun
-
a sudden attack of fear or alarm
-
a period of general fear or alarm
adjective
Synonym Usage
See frighten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scaresimple
-
scaressimple
-
have scaredperfect
-
has scaredperfect
-
am scaringprogressive
-
are scaringprogressive
-
is scaringprogressive
-
have been scaringperfect progressive
-
has been scaringperfect progressive
Past
-
scaredsimple
-
had scaredperfect
-
was scaringprogressive
-
were scaringprogressive
-
had been scaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scare
First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra “to frighten,” derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (for the noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb
Explanation
Scare is a verb that means frighten or intimidate. You might be embarrassed to admit that you don't want to go to the beach with your friends because of how much seagulls scare you. Questions on a test you're unprepared for might scare you, and so might a barking dog. To scare is to spook, startle, or cause fear, and what scares your best friend most (like losing his job) might not be what would scare you more than anything (like discovering a huge snake in your shower). You can also use scare as a noun, as in "It gave me such a scare when all my friends jumped out and yelled, 'Surprise!'"
Vocabulary lists containing scare
Terrify
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Terrify
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Terrify
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“Even with his recent lung cancer scare, he came back so strong,” Harris said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
England survived an almighty scare to eventually win the third Test against Pakistan by eight wickets and complete a 3-0 clean sweep.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“The last thing they want to do is scare a patient away from having a procedure they actually need.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
There was a brief injury scare to quarterback Nico Iamaleava, but by then, the Bruins had effectively won the game with two things they did poorly a season ago: rushing and defense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Bat,” Mom said, “you need to stay calm around the skunk kit. Okay? You don’t want to scare him.”
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
"But privately it still scares me," she confided, adding she prioritises the "human" aspect of her work.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Neither dropped a set on their way to the last 16, while American pair Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff - seeded third and fourth - progressed without any serious scares.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Recent food-safety scares have cut into restaurants’ traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Poltergeist” was, notably, a summertime Amblin release that similarly riffed on classic creature scares — updating dusty, old ghost tropes with new ideas — much like Mitchell does with his dino-time-travel extravaganza.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
“I like you, Diego—so much, it scares me. But what does it say about me that I can like you as much as I do and still not want to press the button?”
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
Following indirect contact with her mother the court heard that the child experiences "significant difficulties" and can wake at night and say "she is scared of the dark and mummy".
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
He asked his guest, “Why are they so scared of you?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
New Yorkers famously went out to the bars that very night, refusing to sit scared in our apartments.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
One tech expert postulated that Hugging Face was an example of an AI that got scared because it couldn’t complete its task.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Clare saw himself as a young kit, scared and alone and barely understanding the white fox who’d appeared from the shadows.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The picture above was taken by a man who posted on social media about "morons on electric bikes" scaring a nearby horse, external as they rode illegally on public footpaths.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
A series of military exercises taking place in empty buildings across the Southland are scaring residents and rattling neighbors as the sound of gunfire rings out in the dark and troops descend from helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
“Higher mortgage rates are scaring off some buyers, but that’s opening the door for others,” Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research, said in a statement.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Resisting AI innovation is as wrongheaded as overselling its immediate impact and needlessly scaring American workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
“Don’t be silly, April. Stop scaring the girl. Your eyes are going. Pass me that cup, child.”
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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.
