scared

American

[skaird] / skɛərd /

adjective

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.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of scare.

Other Word Forms

unscared adjective

Etymology

Origin of scared

scare ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

“I’m scared, I’m scared,” the boy kept saying, as his sister tried to calm him, Halioua said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Just the opposite: They’re scared of the system.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

“I was so scared because I know how bad it could have been,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Bolton described his partner as especially scared and outlined how their attempts to get help from the Turkish consulate and the Isle of Man government brought no resolution.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

I was scared, too, but I wasn’t going to let Daisy know it.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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