frighten

fright-en · verb

imported

Definitions

verb

  1. 1.

    To make someone feel afraid or anxious.

  2. 2.

    To cause someone to do something through fear.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    frighten away/off — to scare someone or something so they leave
  • •
    frighten into — to use fear to force someone to do something
  • •
    frighten the life out of someone — to scare someone very badly
  • •
    frighten to death — to terrify someone extremely

Related words

Antonyms: calm, reassure, soothe
See also: fright, frightened, frightening, scare
Synonyms: alarm, scare, startle, terrify

Etymology

From fright + -en (verbal suffix). The base word comes from Old English fyrhtu ("fear"). The verb form developed in the 17th century.