scary
Americanadjective
-
causing fright or alarm.
-
easily frightened; timid.
adjective
-
causing fear or alarm; frightening
-
easily roused to fear; timid
Etymology
Origin of scary
Explanation
If something is scary, it makes you afraid, or scared. Horror films — scary movies — are a very popular genre. Apparently people like to be frightened. Scary is more a more casual way to say "frightening," and you can also use it to describe something that's just bizarre or odd or exceptional: you've become such a good golfer, it's scary; or, you cleaned up you room so fast, it's scary. Note that there is no "e" in scary, even though the verb to scare ends in one.
Vocabulary lists containing scary
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -y
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"Leapin' Lizards! Is That a Real Dragon?"
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Unit 18, Lesson 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.
"They did their job. It's always scary, but it was controlled as much as possible. We passed the police on the way, and the situation was already under control."
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Meanwhile his sound team keeps turning up the volume to 12, delivering shrieking, insistent layers of audio effects that are more annoying than scary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
But, she added, “Others watch it like it’s a scary movie or a roller coaster.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
In some ways that’s scary, but it could also be “liberating,” he offered.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026
I mean, I’m sure he had sneezed before, but it would be a scary sneeze that blew down a house or something.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions 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.
