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frighten

   Also found in: Idioms 0.40 sec.
fright·en  (frtn)
v. fright·ened, fright·en·ing, fright·ens
v.tr.
1. To fill with fear; alarm.
2. To drive or force by arousing fear: The suspect was frightened into confessing.
v.intr.
To become afraid.

frighten·er n.
frighten·ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: frighten, scare, alarm, terrify, terrorize, startle, panic
These verbs mean to cause a person to experience fear. Frighten and the less formal scare are the most widely applicable: "The Count's mysterious warning frightened me at the time" (Bram Stoker). The angry dog scared the small child.
Alarm implies the often sudden onset of apprehension: Her sudden weight loss alarmed her doctor.
Terrify implies overwhelming, often paralyzing fear: "It is the coming of death that terrifies me" (Oscar Wilde).
Terrorize implies intimidation and sometimes suggests deliberate coercion: "The decent citizen was terrorized into paying public blackmail" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Startle suggests a momentary shock that may cause a sudden, involuntary movement of the body: The clap of thunder startled us.
Panic implies sudden frantic fear that often impairs self-control and rationality: The realistic radio drama panicked the listeners who tuned in after it had begun.

frighten
Verb
1. to terrify or scare
2. to force (someone) to do something from fear
frightening adj
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.frighten - cause fear in; "The stranger who hangs around the building frightens me"; "Ghosts could never affright her"
bluff - frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is
stimulate, stir, shake up, excite, shake - stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of; "These stories shook the community"; "the civil war shook the country"
awe - inspire awe in; "The famous professor awed the undergraduates"
terrify, terrorise, terrorize - fill with terror; frighten greatly
intimidate - make timid or fearful; "Her boss intimidates her"
alarm, horrify, appal, appall, dismay - fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised; "I was horrified at the thought of being late for my interview"; "The news of the executions horrified us"
consternate - fill with anxiety, dread, dismay, or confusion; "After the terrorist attack, people look consternated"
spook - frighten or scare, and often provoke into a violent action; "The noise spooked the horse"
daunt, frighten away, frighten off, scare away, scare off, pall, scare, dash - cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal"
daunt, frighten away, frighten off, scare away, scare off, pall, scare, dash - cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal"
2.frighten - drive out by frightening
chase away, dispel, drive away, drive off, drive out, run off, turn back - force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings; "Drive away potential burglars"; "drive away bad thoughts"; "dispel doubts"; "The supermarket had to turn back many disappointed customers"

frighten
verb scare, shock, alarm, terrify, cow, appal, startle, intimidate, dismay, daunt, unnerve, petrify, unman, terrorize, scare (someone) stiff, put the wind up (someone) (informal) scare the living daylights out of (someone) (informal) make your hair stand on end (informal) get the wind up, make your blood run cold, throw into a panic, affright (archaic) freeze your blood, make (someone) jump out of his skin (informal) throw into a fright << OPPOSITE reassure
Translations
frighten [ˈfraɪtn] vtasustar
frighten away, frighten off vt [+ birds, children etc] → espantar, ahuyentar
frighten [ˈfraɪtn] fright vteffrayer, faire peur à
frighten away, frighten off vt [+ birds, children etc] → faire fuir, effaroucher
frighten [ˈfraɪtn] fright vterschrecken
frighten away or off fright vtverscheuchen
frighten [ˈfraɪtn] vtspaventare, far paura a
frighten away, frighten off vt [+ birds, children etc] → scacciare (facendogli paura)


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If ye kill before midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay, Lest ye frighten the deer from the crops, and the brothers go empty away.
Lady Jane was the old Earl's favourite daughter, and tended him and loved him sincerely: as for Lady Emily, the authoress of the "Washerwoman of Finchley Common," her denunciations of future punishment (at this period, for her opinions modified afterwards) were so awful that they used to frighten the timid old gentleman her father, and the physicians declared his fits always occurred after one of her Ladyship's sermons.
McGREGOR hung up the little jacket and the shoes for a scare-crow to frighten the blackbirds.
 
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