scared

American  

[skaird] / skɛərd /

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.

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unscared
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of scared

scare ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

Example Sentences

"If there is another quake, I'm scared the hospital will collapse."

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

To acquaintances at auctions, McClain said his edge was keeping death rates low, from know-how handling sick and scared calves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

“Yields up, oil down — that means investors are scared that the Fed is going to hike,” said Jose Torres, an economist at Interactive Brokers.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

"It's still not fully covered, you know, the extent of the suffering. And I think, for me, Nigeria is just scared to confront its own truth," he said.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

Against my wishes I started thinking of all the things in my life that had scared me.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• afraid
• anxious
• fearful
• panicked
• panicky
• startled