scared

[skaird]

adjective

1. filled with fear, terror, or dread, often suddenly; frightened; alarmed.

   The doctor provided not only physical treatment but also moral guidance for scared patients with terminal diagnoses.

   I came into college as a scared freshman and left as a confident, competent adult.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of scare.

Other Word Forms

• unscared adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scared¹

scare ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

A child is heard screaming and saying: "I'm scared".

From BBC

“He scared me then, he still scares me now,” Shires sings, and she is worried how that will come across.

From Los Angeles Times

He used to play youth football at age 6 and was so scared of being tackled that he kept running away from defenders when he had the ball.

From Los Angeles Times

Pankow was scared to death when I was driving the car: “You have no business doing this. My life is in jeopardy.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I was scared to hurt anybody for so long and ruffle any feathers or change anything up, even though I was feeling really stagnant,” Price admits.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• afraid 
• anxious 
• fearful 
• panicked www.thesaurus.com
• panicky www.thesaurus.com
• startled