fright
Americannoun
-
sudden and extreme fear; a sudden terror.
- Synonyms:
- alarm, consternation, dismay
-
a person or thing of shocking, grotesque, or ridiculous appearance.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
sudden intense fear or alarm
-
a sudden alarming shock
-
informal a horrifying, grotesque, or ludicrous person or thing
she looks a fright in that hat
-
to become frightened
verb
Synonym Usage
See terror.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The audience’s understanding of fright story rules and stock characters seasons the show’s sinister comedy, as it also draws on the audience’s familiarity with places like its titular town, whether by reputation or experience.
From Salon • Jun. 18, 2026
Uchiyama, who has interpreted for Japanese directors such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, used to think she had stage fright — even though she once fronted a punk band.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
O’Brien, in fright makeup and wig, looked like Aunt Gladys, the orange-haired witch in the horror movie “Weapons.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
The bear cub took one berry, then jumped away in seeming fright at its own bold act.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
