as in to scare
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of frighten
The loud sounds and flashes of light were thought to frighten Nian and other evil spirits.
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Brandi D. Addison, The Arizona Republic, 31 Dec. 2024
The day after Luigi Mangione was indicted for murder, 200 top American CEOs came together, under heavily armed protection, in a bold statement of defiance of the populist fringes, not frightened away or intimidated for standing up for leadership and American character.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024
There is nothing frail or frightened about his Scrooge.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2024
The narrative arc of Ghosts follows a gentleman mysteriously endowed with supernatural abilities that frighten the residents of a phantom town.
—Ime Ekpo, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frighten 
Brandi D. Addison, The Arizona Republic, 31 Dec. 2024
The day after Luigi Mangione was indicted for murder, 200 top American CEOs came together, under heavily armed protection, in a bold statement of defiance of the populist fringes, not frightened away or intimidated for standing up for leadership and American character.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024
There is nothing frail or frightened about his Scrooge.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Dec. 2024
The narrative arc of Ghosts follows a gentleman mysteriously endowed with supernatural abilities that frighten the residents of a phantom town.
—Ime Ekpo, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frighten
Verb
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Even in an off-year, Mahomes still scares the heck out of me as a Bills’ fan.Harry Enten, CNN, 11 Jan. 2025
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Consider the teams that might have been scared away by that kind of uncertainty.Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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And Rob is very much a sort of cat among pigeons — everyone's terrified of him.EW.com, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2025
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She was terrified because her cat was in the house.Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The most recent superintendent was basically run out of the job in June after startling dysfunction in the central administration was uncovered.Alan J. Borsuk, Journal Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024
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More on Axios: PR's misguided metrics Israeli intelligence sees growing chance Assad's forces collapse in Syria Israeli intelligence officials have been startled by a faster-than-expected collapse of the Syrian army's defense lines over the last 24 hours, two senior Israeli officials tell Axios.Eleanor Hawkins, Axios, 5 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Baldoni and Wayfarer apparently got spooked that their behavior would come back to bite them.Nicole Page, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2025
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Here, strange noises, scratches, and even movements take on an outsized quality that can spook even experienced outdoorsmen and women.Laura Lancaster, Outdoor Life, 2 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near frighten
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frighten. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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