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. to become frightened

verb

1. a poetic word for frighten

Other Word Forms

• self-frighted adjective
• unfrighted 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

The star was also in a constant battle with stage fright—a startling admission for a larger-than-life performer with a reputation for spooky, unnerving antics.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

What used to fuel her stage fright, she says, was her belief that there was a right way and a wrong way to perform.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As any seasoned horror movie fan can attest, few frights are as reliably nauseating as eyeball trauma.

Read more on Salon

Sharing with Olyphant that this was my earliest memory of what robots might be capable of resurfaced an equivalent fright in his memory: The Robot from “Lost In Space.”

Read more on Salon

I have terrible stage fright and I am always worried about disappointing people.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consternation 
• dismay 
• horror 
• panic 
• trepidation