fright

[ frahyt ]

noun

1. sudden and extreme fear; a sudden terror.

   Synonyms: alarm, consternation, dismay

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

verb (used with object)

1. to frighten.

fright

/ 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. take fright
   take fright to become frightened

verb

1. See frighten
   a poetic word for frighten

Other Words From

• self-frighted adjective
• un·frighted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fright¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English frytu, fyrhto; akin to German Furcht

Word History and Origins

Origin of fright¹

Old English fryhto ; related to Gothic faurhtei , Old Frisian fruchte , Old High German forhta

Synonym Study

See terror.

Example Sentences

You may be able to simply train yourself to wake up and end the dream, or overcome the very vivid feelings of fear and fright by telling yourself that it’s a dream.

From MIT Technology Review

The green creatures in The Sunken Land, on the other hand, conjure up the visceral fright of something slithering and unfamiliar brushing past your skin when you enter a lake.

From MIT Technology Review

With such fright back there, it’s small solace that the contenders lack defending champion Dustin Johnson, the No.

From Washington Post

Much of the heavy lifting for frights is done by the environments, especially in the world of the dead that takes a Lovecraftian aesthetic, with slippery tentacles or long arms reaching down from above.

From Washington Post

To add to the fright, some children live in unstable homes where food is hard to come by.

From Voice of San Diego

Finally he grabs that blanket [and] I counted eight on one double mattress, eight children held together—dying of fright.

From The Daily Beast

Take this sentence: "With the snake in sight, the horse reeled his paws in fright."

From The Daily Beast

Kate got a fright when she thought she'd mislaid a family engagement ring that Prince William gave her in 2010.

From The Daily Beast

He talks to Gordon Marino about reliving his darkest moments—and how he faced down his stage fright.

From The Daily Beast

First, she had to overcome her stage fright to go head-to-head with the big boys.

From The Daily Beast

Liszt looked at it, and to her fright and dismay cried out in a fit of impatience, "No, I won't hear it!"

From Project Gutenberg

The performers and the nuns nearly died of fright, believing that their last hour had surely come.

From Project Gutenberg

I am thankful that prolonged mourning is out of date; it made a fright of me and was getting on my nerves.

From Project Gutenberg

Winifred, naturally a high-spirited and lively girl, soon recovered from the fright of that fateful Sunday evening.

From Project Gutenberg

Frantic with fright, she implored her Maker to have mercy on her, remarking at the same time, "The devil has got me at last."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• consternation
• dismay
• horror
• panic
• trepidation