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scare story

American

[skair stawr-ee] / ˈskɛər ˌstɔr i /

noun

a story or report, especially in a news source, that uses sensationalism to make a situation seem more dangerous or worrying than it is in reality.

Etymology

Origin of scare story

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

See Examples For:

scare story

Now the honest counterweight, because every scare story deserves one.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

So this is just a scare story, isn’t it?

From The Guardian ● Nov. 5, 2019

He had no patience for the medical scare story or the fad diet.

From MSNBC ● Oct. 14, 2014

But Nicola Sturgeon said this was a "scare story" and it was "insulting people's intelligence".

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2014

To have worked so hard, and then to have another paper come out with a "scare" story about Mr. Potter's return, was discouraging.

From Larry Dexter's Great Search or, The Hunt for the Missing Millionaire by Howard Roger Garis

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023