definitions

affright

[ uh-frahyt ]
/ əˈfraɪt /
Archaic.
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verb (used with object)

to frighten.

noun

sudden fear or terror; fright.
a source of terror.
the act of terrifying.

RELATED WORDS

fright, intimidate, alarm, startle, spook, daunt, panic, scare, terrify

Nearby words

affreight, affreightment, affricate, affrication, affricative, affright, affront, affrontive, afft., affusion, afg

Origin of affright

before 1000; Middle English afrighten, Old English āfyrhtan, equivalent to ā- a-3 + fyrhtan to fright

Related forms

self-af·fright·ed, adjectiveun·af·fright·ed, adjectiveun·af·fright·ed·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for affright

British Dictionary definitions for affright

affright

/ (əˈfraɪt) archaic, or poetic /

verb

(tr) to frighten

noun

a sudden terror

Word Origin for affright

Old English āfyrhtan, from a-, a prefix indicating the beginning or end of an action + fyrhtan to fright
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012