frighten

verb

fright·​en ˈfrī-tᵊn 

frightened; frightening ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈfrīt-niŋ

transitive verb

1

: to make afraid : terrify

The movie scene frightened the child.

2

: to drive or force by frightening

frightened the boy into confessing

intransitive verb

: to become frightened

She doesn't frighten easily.

frighteningly

ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ-lē 

ˈfrīt-niŋ-lē

adverb

Synonyms

• affright
• alarm
• alarum
• fright
• horrify
• panic
• scare
• scarify
• shock
• spook
• startle
• terrify
• terrorize

Examples of frighten in a Sentence

The story really frightened me.

The child was badly frightened by the mask.

Recent Examples on the Web

The internal drama may frighten away investors, potentially leading to a lower valuation. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2024

Amelia, frightened by her son’s behavior, is forced to medicate him. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024

Or try inflatable scarecrows, which move sporadically to frighten the birds, says Owen. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 20 Sep. 2024

But Fain pushed back on that argument and said the company was trying to intimidate and frighten workers even as the union had been asking for weeks to meet with Tavares. —Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 18 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

fright entry 1 + -en entry 2

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing frighten

• frighten away/off
• frighten into
• frighten out of
• frighten/scare the life out of
• frighten the life out of
• frighten to death

Kids Definition

frighten

verb

fright·​en ˈfrīt-ᵊn 

frightened; frightening ˈfrīt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

1

: to make afraid : terrify

2

: to drive away or out by frightening

3

: to become frightened

frighteningly

-niŋ-lē 

-ᵊn-iŋ-

adverb