scare

American  

[skair] / skɛər /

verb (used with object)

scared, scaring

1. to fill, especially suddenly, with fear or terror; frighten; alarm.

   What scares me most about the disease is the residual effects on the lungs and heart.

   The ducks scared my sister by flying right toward her.

   Synonyms:

   intimidate, startle

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verb (used without object)

scared, scaring

1. to become frightened.

   That horse scares easily.

noun

1. 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.

2. 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

1. 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.

2. 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.

scare British  

/ skɛə /

verb

1. to fill or be filled with fear or alarm

2. (tr; often foll by away or off) to drive (away) by frightening

3. informal (tr) (foll by up)

   1. to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available

   2. to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficulty

      brewers need to scare up more sales

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noun

1. a sudden attack of fear or alarm

2. a period of general fear or alarm

adjective

1. causing (needless) fear or alarm

   a scare story

scare Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing scare

• run scared

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Related Words

See frighten.

Other Word Forms

• scarer noun
• scaringly adverb

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

Example Sentences

Some kids were scared to try their creations, but overall the party went well.

From The Wall Street Journal

Still others will stay home, scared to go to work — particularly in cities hit hard by raids.

From Los Angeles Times

I could tell they were scared to have others see it because I’m sure it’s hard to write something like that and not make it corny or inauthentic.

From Los Angeles Times

Nick Beerling discovered a small, scared puppy sitting on top of a pile of trash.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m scared to dance because I’m always off beat and I don’t know any dance moves,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• alarm
• awe
• daunt
• dismay
• intimidate
• paralyze
• petrify
• shock
• startle
• terrify
• terrorize