scare tactics

[ skair tak-tiks ]

plural noun

1. a strategy to get someone to comply or surrender by making them afraid:

   Scare tactics won't keep kids from using drugs, says this social worker.

   In this telemarketing scam, perpetrators use the threat of a computer meltdown as a scare tactic to get victims to send money.

Word History and Origins

Origin of scare tactics¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

During these 10 years, the scare tactics of our opponents have been proved false.

From The Daily Beast

The speech began as an amalgam of scare tactics and bipartisan appeal.

From The Daily Beast

It can therefore use very specific scare tactics with a very specific aim: to drag people to the polls.

From The Daily Beast

Never before has the gun group been quite this shameless in its scare tactics.

From The Daily Beast

Clear away all the demagogy and scare tactics, and Obamacare is, at its core, Romneycare across state lines.

From The Daily Beast