scare
Americanverb (used with object)
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scares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scared,
past participle, past
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scaring
present participle
verb (used without object)
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scares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scared,
past participle, past
-
scaring
present participle
noun
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scares
plural
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a sudden fright or alarm, especially with little or no reason.
I recently had a scare when my computer seemed to be malfunctioning, but it turned out to be nothing.
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a time or condition of alarm or worry.
During the anthrax scare, people were leery of opening envelopes from addresses they didn't recognize.
verb phrase
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scare away / off to frighten or alarm someone or something so much that they go away and stay away.
Business leaders felt the fuel tax would scare away consumers fearing higher electricity bills and rising gasoline costs.
The bee's sting isn't necessarily deadly, but it's painful enough to scare off predators.
-
scare up to obtain with effort; find or gather.
We want to renovate the kitchen, but first we'll need to scare up some money.
verb
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to fill or be filled with fear or alarm
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(tr; often foll by away or off) to drive (away) by frightening
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informal (tr) (foll by up)
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to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available
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to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficulty
brewers need to scare up more sales
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noun
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a sudden attack of fear or alarm
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a period of general fear or alarm
adjective
Synonym Usage
See frighten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scaresimple
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scaressimple
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have scaredperfect
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has scaredperfect
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am scaringprogressive
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are scaringprogressive
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is scaringprogressive
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have been scaringperfect progressive
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has been scaringperfect progressive
Past
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scaredsimple
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had scaredperfect
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was scaringprogressive
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were scaringprogressive
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had been scaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scare
First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra “to frighten,” derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (for the noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb
Explanation
Scare is a verb that means frighten or intimidate. You might be embarrassed to admit that you don't want to go to the beach with your friends because of how much seagulls scare you. Questions on a test you're unprepared for might scare you, and so might a barking dog. To scare is to spook, startle, or cause fear, and what scares your best friend most (like losing his job) might not be what would scare you more than anything (like discovering a huge snake in your shower). You can also use scare as a noun, as in "It gave me such a scare when all my friends jumped out and yelled, 'Surprise!'"
Vocabulary lists containing scare
Terrify
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Terrify
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Terrify
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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.
See Examples For:
He said his struggle intensified following a heart scare during a training run, which led to him being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation - a heart rhythm condition.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
The Offspring’s co-founding guitarist Noodles is pausing on performing due to a health scare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
The scare tactic has helped reduce support for the repeal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The doctor said she did not want to "scare patients away" from coming to an emergency department.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
“I don’t mean to scare you, but we couldn’t leave even if we wanted to.”
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Investors piled into safe havens on Thursday following the tech wobbles and inflation scares.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
But just as sales picked up, food-safety scares tied to lettuce and jalapeños ate into demand in the restaurant sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
She remembers thinking: “If I’m not doing the stuff that scares me, for a good reason, what am I even doing?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"We did sci-fi with Farmageddon and now we're in Halloween horror but without the scares - it's more comedy," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“It scares me. I don’t want to feel apart from you. But maybe we’re not supposed to do everything together? Maybe we’re supposed to have some space.”
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Liguori added that at Google "people are scared of retaliation and putting their career at risk. You feel you are being watched, you can't speak."
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
“I’m a little scared of being perceived as a jack of all trades and a master of none,” Sloan admits with a laugh on a recent morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
"I don't know if I was scared, what must be will be," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
What I had and added was this ease with people, that I was direct and scared of no one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
The man, scared to death, fell off his donkey and ran for his life.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
The picture above was taken by a man who posted on social media about "morons on electric bikes" scaring a nearby horse, external as they rode illegally on public footpaths.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The air carrier said higher fares aren’t scaring away customers, who are prioritizing travel spend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
A series of military exercises taking place in empty buildings across the Southland are scaring residents and rattling neighbors as the sound of gunfire rings out in the dark and troops descend from helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Fuel shortages and economic turmoil are scaring away foreign visitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
I all but pounced onto Chubs’s back, both scaring him senseless and kneeing him in the kidney in the process.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
