scare
Americanverb (used with object)
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scares,
present (3rd person singular)
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scared,
past participle, past
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scaring
present participle
verb (used without object)
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scares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scared,
past participle, past
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scaring
present participle
noun
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scares
plural
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a sudden fright or alarm, especially with little or no reason.
I recently had a scare when my computer seemed to be malfunctioning, but it turned out to be nothing.
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a time or condition of alarm or worry.
During the anthrax scare, people were leery of opening envelopes from addresses they didn't recognize.
verb phrase
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scare away / off to frighten or alarm someone or something so much that they go away and stay away.
Business leaders felt the fuel tax would scare away consumers fearing higher electricity bills and rising gasoline costs.
The bee's sting isn't necessarily deadly, but it's painful enough to scare off predators.
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scare up to obtain with effort; find or gather.
We want to renovate the kitchen, but first we'll need to scare up some money.
verb
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to fill or be filled with fear or alarm
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(tr; often foll by away or off) to drive (away) by frightening
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informal (tr) (foll by up)
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to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available
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to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficulty
brewers need to scare up more sales
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noun
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a sudden attack of fear or alarm
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a period of general fear or alarm
adjective
Synonym Usage
See frighten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scaresimple
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scaressimple
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have scaredperfect
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has scaredperfect
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am scaringprogressive
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are scaringprogressive
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is scaringprogressive
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have been scaringperfect progressive
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has been scaringperfect progressive
Past
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scaredsimple
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had scaredperfect
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was scaringprogressive
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were scaringprogressive
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had been scaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scare
First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra “to frighten,” derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (for the noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb
Explanation
Scare is a verb that means frighten or intimidate. You might be embarrassed to admit that you don't want to go to the beach with your friends because of how much seagulls scare you. Questions on a test you're unprepared for might scare you, and so might a barking dog. To scare is to spook, startle, or cause fear, and what scares your best friend most (like losing his job) might not be what would scare you more than anything (like discovering a huge snake in your shower). You can also use scare as a noun, as in "It gave me such a scare when all my friends jumped out and yelled, 'Surprise!'"
Vocabulary lists containing scare
Terrify
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Terrify
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Terrify
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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:
Police bodycam footage, obtained by TMZ, revealed the family was fighting over a recent health scare involving Milania.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Biles opened up about the health scare in a post on her Instagram Stories, sharing an image of her wrist covered with hospital bands.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Wineries may use them to scare birds scavenging for fruit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
But the near miss didn’t scare her away from medbeds.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
We made enough racket to scare the hoot owls out of the bottoms, but we sure didn’t stir up any monkeys.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
"But privately it still scares me," she confided, adding she prioritises the "human" aspect of her work.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Why it’s worth seeing: Directed by horror master Zach Cregger, it’s more promising than your average game-turned-movie for its mix of humor, scares and unexpected emotional moments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Neither dropped a set on their way to the last 16, while American pair Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff - seeded third and fourth - progressed without any serious scares.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Writer-director Jacob Chase, who previously made the 2020 horror film “Come Play,” downplays gore in favor of jump scares and mildly diverting set pieces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Everything that scares you kind of mushes together to become this big, terrifying feeling.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
“Fear of AI grows every day and it’s hard to be scared of something cute,” said branding consultant veteran Allen Adamson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"People might be scared to give us information but we are independent of the police and keep people completely anonymous."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
"A lot of chefs are being very quiet about this, and I understand that because they're sort of scared of the protesters," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Most black bear “attacks” are actually defensive actions, and generally take place if an animal is protecting cubs, startled or scared, according to the department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
I’m used to seeing them so I wasn’t too scared.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The picture above was taken by a man who posted on social media about "morons on electric bikes" scaring a nearby horse, external as they rode illegally on public footpaths.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The blockade, which had effectively cut off Iran’s oil flow, was scaring Iranian VIPs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
“They’re scaring people, saying Russia is going to start a war. It’s stupid,” he said, as he walked along the Narva River.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
A series of military exercises taking place in empty buildings across the Southland are scaring residents and rattling neighbors as the sound of gunfire rings out in the dark and troops descend from helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
No use scaring Rashawn any more than she was.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
