scare away/off

phrasal verb

scared away/off; scaring away/off; scares away/off

: to cause (someone or something) to go away and stay away because of fear or because of possible trouble, difficulty, etc.

The dog scared the prowler away.

The noise scared off the birds.

Tourists have been scared off by the recent violence in the city.

Examples of scare away/off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An inflated valuation can scare off potential buyers, while undervaluing your business can leave money on the table. —Lien De Pau, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Those aren’t a decor choice–those homeowners are trying to scare away nuisance birds. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2024

When used correctly, these decoys can scare away pesky birds who are trying to roost on your porch. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2024

That combination of Trump’s mercurial but hard-line foreign policy with Vance’s outlook, which Princeton’s Kurtzer characterizes as viewing the world entirely through the prism of America’s borders and interests, may scare off potential U.S. allies. —David Hodari, NBC News, 3 Aug. 2024