as in to frighten
to strike with fear
that foolish woman would be scarified by a mouse
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Recent Examples of scarify
Some will confine their mess to pixels, but surely others will scarify the walls and stain the floors.
—
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Sep. 2021
And some on the platform feel free enough to verbally poke a pop star or scarify Spotify.
—Bill Hochberg, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Sep. 2021
And some on the platform feel free enough to verbally poke a pop star or scarify Spotify.
—Bill Hochberg, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scarify
Verb
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Judy Hernandez’ husband Raul, a co-founder of the community group the Resurrection Project, dismissed those plans as a political stunt geared to create fear and frighten Spanish-speaking people.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Many of us are conditioned to think that our ultimate goal in life is to be with someone, so much so, that the mere thought of being alone frightens us.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Yet, at the same time, automation scares people.—
Arthur Azizov,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Parents, scared by the specter of brain damage, are reluctant to let their kids play tackle football.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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All of this terrified his father, Charlie, a former cop who had a premonition that something would go wrong.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
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Lewis, the five-star recruit and the people’s choice, looked good handing off and terrified on obvious passing downs.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Then the Buckel brothers arrived, intent on doing the same, and Smith was startled.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Another Epstein accuser looked up, startled, to see where the deafening sound was coming from.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scarify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scarify. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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