fright
Americannoun
-
frights
plural
-
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.
See Examples For:
He was the only other player, apart from Sherrock, to cause Littler a fright.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
On screen, Guitarrica’s expressive and angular visage conveys the fright and uncertainty that afflict his character, who is desperate for tenderness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
He said he was back in the lounge Wednesday, when new explosions rattled the glass and caused everyone to jump with fright.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Some tips for scaredy cats: If you don’t like spooky scary skeletons, creepy crawlies, or horror flicks, Halloween season can be a fright to endure.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Clumsy with fright and haste, he dropped the cotton rag three times before he was able to wrap it about the goblet as it had been before.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Mark your calendar for a special Slate event: This spooky season, the midterm elections are full of frights, but Slate’s politics team is here to warn you about any jumpscares.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Widow’s Bay” has its share of jump scares, but for the most part, its frights are bearable and its symbols are heavier on text as opposed to subtext.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
Eventually, he finds himself inside a barn with anthropomorphized hay and other frights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
On the field, he has impressed as a young captain and here, not without frights, he came through his toughest test so far.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026
Once the boogeyperson is done telling us about a few of her favorite frights, Agent Kozy lets us ask questions.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
