frighten
Americanverb (used with object)
-
frightens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
frightened,
past participle, past
-
frightening
present participle
-
to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.
- Synonyms:
- intimidate, dismay, startle, shock
-
to drive (usually followed by away, off, etc.) by scaring.
to frighten away pigeons from the roof.
verb (used without object)
-
frightens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
frightened,
past participle, past
-
frightening
present participle
verb
-
to cause fear in; terrify; scare
-
to drive or force to go (away, off, out, in, etc) by making afraid
Synonym Usage
Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals. To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, especially that arising from the apprehension of physical harm: to frighten someone by a sudden noise. To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger: to alarm someone by a scream. To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger: Horror movies really scare me. To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear: to terrify a city by lawless acts. To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control: His marauding armies terrorized the countryside. To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror: The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
frightenernoun
-
overfrightenverb
-
frightenableadjective
-
frightenedadjective
-
frighteningadjective
-
nonfrighteningadjective
-
unfrighteningadjective
-
frighteninglyadverb
-
nonfrighteninglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
frightensimple
-
frightenssimple
-
have frightenedperfect
-
has frightenedperfect
-
am frighteningprogressive
-
are frighteningprogressive
-
is frighteningprogressive
-
have been frighteningperfect progressive
-
has been frighteningperfect progressive
Past
-
frightenedsimple
-
had frightenedperfect
-
was frighteningprogressive
-
were frighteningprogressive
-
had been frighteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of frighten
Explanation
To frighten is to make someone feel afraid. Your new look — pink hair, tattoos, and piercings — will probably frighten your grandparents. If horror movies and haunted houses frighten you, they scare you, and all it might take to frighten your skittish cat is the sound of the vacuum cleaner or coffee grinder. Frighten is the verb form of the noun fright. although originally the verb was also fright. The Old English source is fyrhtu, "fear, dread, trembling, or horrible sight."
Vocabulary lists containing frighten
Unit 1, Academic Vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Terrify
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Terrify
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
First used by Ottoman military "mehter" bands to frighten and demoralise the enemy, cymbals were a useful tool for an empire on the warpath.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The alerts didn’t frighten her as much as before, she said, and her fears about the future have eased.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
“They tell you to alert the bear to make sure you don’t frighten it. I called, ‘Hey bear!
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
"Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team-mates come and go but not like this," Salah posted last summer.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I don’t like talking to people. It’s very—difficult for me.”
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
I have to admit your creativity frightens me a little.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
I’m not here to persuade you to fly if it frightens you that much.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
Desai: It looked at year end like Kevin Hassett’s star was on the rise, but none of the names discussed frightens me.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Its ultimate goal remains independence but its current leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has taken a fresh approach, acknowledging that the idea of Wales going it alone frightens some voters.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
“I can understand how this might be upsetting to you. That ‘FBI’ title frightens people sometimes.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Chris was frightened after hearing about the arrests at Hunter Bookstore, but he says he will keep going.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Both Oscar-nominated, Davis and Sarandon play beautifully off each other, funny and loose in one moment, frightened or furious the next.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Crews also attended incidents elsewhere in Wales, including in Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where a BBC reporter on the scene said residents were "frightened".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
“I was frightened and frenzied, which is what con artists use to get our hard-earned cash.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Leah’s lip is wobbling, and Noah and Janneke are like frightened rabbits.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Kim Sun-hee, 70, described them as "like scraping cement, or even ghost-like noises. It was really frightening".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
She wrote: "Early indications are that the pain is very much improved - although I am still healing from the surgery itself so that also feels uncertain and frightening to admit - even to myself."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
While it sounds frightening to say rates are higher than they’ve been in nearly 20 years, the past two decades are the era that was abnormal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Minnie Driver’s Paris adventures went awry this week when she was involved in a car accident that she’s describing as a frightening close call.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
If she paused, the current rocked the boat in a frightening way.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
