scare
Americanverb (used with object)
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scares,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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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.
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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:
Times when the stock market has a big scare that resolves quickly seem to inspire exceptional risk-taking behavior once the smoke clears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
He soon met Star Romano, a fellow scare actor who moved into a leadership role at Dark Harbor and invited him to join two years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
He slipped on the back steps last winter, and we both pretended it didn’t scare us, but he could have just as easily slipped on another stairwell.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
"It's a weird thing, if something is trying to scare you, and you say you're scared then they've sort of won," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Is this all it takes to scare her these days?
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Get ready to buy the scares in the coming weeks, investment strategy firm Yardeni Research has advised.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
When consecutive contamination scares hit shredded iceberg lettuce and jalapeños, Sweetgreen rushed to reassure diners that it doesn’t use iceberg lettuce and its suppliers weren’t affected, and it tightened safety protocols.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Just as sales picked up, food-safety scares involving lettuce and jalapeños ate into demand in the restaurant sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
When I ask Mandel whether writing out these alternate realities scares her or helps her to cope, she admits a bit of both.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Well, actually the hospital full of zombies in the movie explodes, but since I’m not paying attention, it scares me so much that I scream.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
“It does sound desperate, but it’s also that he’s picking up on something. He knows what voters are scared of—isolation,” Katz said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
"I'm scared, but I want to believe it's going to work out."
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
Ron says I’m inventing reasons because I’m scared of change.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
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
But I’m scared I’d make it even worse.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Investment in artificial intelligence is driving our economy and the markets but it’s also doing something else … scaring the hell out of people.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
It’s no secret there’s big business in scaring people: Horror movies are a box office staple, often costing the least to produce and resulting in the biggest profits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
“They’re scaring people, saying Russia is going to start a war. It’s stupid,” he said, as he walked along the Narva River.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"There's a level of scaring the public that needs to be taken into consideration."
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
My heart beat in my ears, and sweat prickled against my palms, and I kind of hated Mom for scaring me.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
