scared
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scared
Explanation
Have you ever gone into a dark room and heard something scurrying across the floor and felt your pulse quicken and your heart race? You were scared — afraid. When you are scared, you are frightened or alarmed. It can be a momentary thing: hearing a car screech outside your house and worrying that your dog just got hit. It can be longer: you might be scared for weeks or months after a medical diagnosis. While the verb is usually associated with a single person or small group, you might also apply it more generally: a fast-moving tornado could have scared a whole town.
Vocabulary lists containing scared
Emotions on Display
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In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 1
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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.
“The uncomfortable reality is that usage is pervasive, and most people know it and are scared to name it. It’s time to name it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
"I was panicked, I was scared," she said of her more than seven hours in detention, having turned up in court expecting to face a maximum penalty of a fine.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
"If you only read the news reports about Somalia, you would be scared to visit. And honestly, that's what I saw in the media before I came, mostly negative headlines."
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Vlasenko isn’t scared of heights, but he quivered when the drone passed over a river, as he can’t swim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Are you scared you can’t run that far? Or scared I’ll beat you?”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
