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RELATED WORDS

alarm, shock, panic, paralyze, dismay, terrorize, intimidate, startle, daunt, awe, petrify, terrify, terror, start, fright, alert, freeze, spook, affright, chill

Nearby words

scarce as hen's teeth, scarcely, scarcely ever, scarcement, scarcity, scare, scare out of one's wits, scare quotes, scare up, scarecrow, scaredy-cat

Origin of scare

1150–1200; (v.) Middle English skerren < Old Norse skirra to frighten, derivative of skjarr timid, shy; (noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the v.

Related forms

scar·er, nounscar·ing·ly, adverbun·scared, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scare

British Dictionary definitions for scare

scare

/ (skɛə) /

verb

to fill or be filled with fear or alarm
(tr; often foll by away or off) to drive (away) by frightening
(tr) US and Canadian informal (foll by up)
  1. to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available
  2. to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficultybrewers need to scare up more sales

noun

a sudden attack of fear or alarm
a period of general fear or alarm

adjective

causing (needless) fear or alarma scare story

Derived Forms

scarer, noun

Word Origin for scare

C12: from Old Norse skirra; related to Norwegian skjerra, Swedish dialect skjarra
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with scare

scare

In addition to the idioms beginning with scare

  • scare out of one's wits
  • scare up

also see:

  • run scared
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.