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

• 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

Their son, who normally loves being outdoors, was scared to go outside the next day, they said.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

He was one of the first to realize the value of the retail investor, and now his failure scared Mom and Pop away for decades.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

“Everyone in Dunboyne knows my parents, so they’re too scared to say hello,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Many years later, I asked her if she was scared that night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

I’m so scared of upsetting her again that I don’t know what to talk about.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

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