frighten
Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.
Related to frighten: frighten away, frighten off
fright·en
(frīt′n)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: told ghost stories to campers who frightened easily.
fright′en·er n.
fright′en·ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: frighten, scare, alarm, terrify, terrorize, startle, panic
These verbs mean to cause a person to experience fear. Frighten and the more informal scare are the most widely applicable: "The Count's mysterious warning frightened me at the time" (Bram Stoker).We scared each other telling ghost stories before bed.
Alarm implies a state of fearful anxiety, often brought on suddenly: The sight of the approaching shark alarmed the swimmers.
Terrify implies overwhelming, often paralyzing fear: "It is the coming of death that terrifies me" (Oscar Wilde).
To terrorize is to strike fear into another, often for purposes of coercion: "The decent citizen was terrorized into paying public blackmail" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Startle suggests a momentary fright 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.
These verbs mean to cause a person to experience fear. Frighten and the more informal scare are the most widely applicable: "The Count's mysterious warning frightened me at the time" (Bram Stoker).We scared each other telling ghost stories before bed.
Alarm implies a state of fearful anxiety, often brought on suddenly: The sight of the approaching shark alarmed the swimmers.
Terrify implies overwhelming, often paralyzing fear: "It is the coming of death that terrifies me" (Oscar Wilde).
To terrorize is to strike fear into another, often for purposes of coercion: "The decent citizen was terrorized into paying public blackmail" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Startle suggests a momentary fright 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.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
frighten
(ˈfraɪtən)vb (tr)
1. to cause fear in; terrify; scare
2. to drive or force to go (away, off, out, in, etc) by making afraid
ˈfrightened adj
ˈfrightening adj
ˈfrighteningly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
fright•en
(ˈfraɪt n)v.t.
1. to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.
2. to drive by scaring (usu. fol. by away, off, etc.): to frighten away pigeons from the roof.
v.i. 3. to become frightened: a timid child who frightens easily.
[1660–70]
fright′en•a•ble, adj.
fright′en•er, n.
fright′en•ing•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
frighten
– frightened1. 'frighten'
If something frightens you, it makes you feel afraid.
Rats and mice don't frighten me.
Frighten is almost always a transitive verb. Don't say that someone 'frightens'. If you want to say that someone is afraid because of something that has happened or that might happen, you say that they are frightened.
Miriam was too frightened to tell her family what had happened.
He told the children not to be frightened.
For more information, see afraid - frightened
2. 'frightening'
Don't confuse frightened with frightening. Something that is frightening causes you to feel fear.
It was a very frightening experience.
It is frightening to think what damage could be done.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
frighten
Past participle: frightened
Gerund: frightening
| Imperative |
|---|
| frighten |
| frighten |
| Present |
|---|
| I frighten |
| you frighten |
| he/she/it frightens |
| we frighten |
| you frighten |
| they frighten |
| Preterite |
|---|
| I frightened |
| you frightened |
| he/she/it frightened |
| we frightened |
| you frightened |
| they frightened |
| Present Continuous |
|---|
| I am frightening |
| you are frightening |
| he/she/it is frightening |
| we are frightening |
| you are frightening |
| they are frightening |
| Present Perfect |
|---|
| I have frightened |
| you have frightened |
| he/she/it has frightened |
| we have frightened |
| you have frightened |
| they have frightened |
| Past Continuous |
|---|
| I was frightening |
| you were frightening |
| he/she/it was frightening |
| we were frightening |
| you were frightening |
| they were frightening |
| Past Perfect |
|---|
| I had frightened |
| you had frightened |
| he/she/it had frightened |
| we had frightened |
| you had frightened |
| they had frightened |
| Future |
|---|
| I will frighten |
| you will frighten |
| he/she/it will frighten |
| we will frighten |
| you will frighten |
| they will frighten |
| Future Perfect |
|---|
| I will have frightened |
| you will have frightened |
| he/she/it will have frightened |
| we will have frightened |
| you will have frightened |
| they will have frightened |
| Future Continuous |
|---|
| I will be frightening |
| you will be frightening |
| he/she/it will be frightening |
| we will be frightening |
| you will be frightening |
| they will be frightening |
| Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I have been frightening |
| you have been frightening |
| he/she/it has been frightening |
| we have been frightening |
| you have been frightening |
| they have been frightening |
| Future Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I will have been frightening |
| you will have been frightening |
| he/she/it will have been frightening |
| we will have been frightening |
| you will have been frightening |
| they will have been frightening |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
|---|
| I had been frightening |
| you had been frightening |
| he/she/it had been frightening |
| we had been frightening |
| you had been frightening |
| they had been frightening |
| Conditional |
|---|
| I would frighten |
| you would frighten |
| he/she/it would frighten |
| we would frighten |
| you would frighten |
| they would frighten |
| Past Conditional |
|---|
| I would have frightened |
| you would have frightened |
| he/she/it would have frightened |
| we would have frightened |
| you would have frightened |
| they would have frightened |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Verb 1. [画像:frighten - cause fear in]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"
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"
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"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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, scare the bejesus out of (informal), affright (archaic), freeze your blood, make (someone) jump out of his skin (informal), throw into a fright Most children are frightened by the sight of blood.
encourage, comfort, calm, reassure, soothe, hearten, allay, assuage
encourage, comfort, calm, reassure, soothe, hearten, allay, assuage
frighten something or someone off or away scare off, startle, put the wind up (someone) (informal), throw into a fright He fired into the air to frighten them off.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
frighten
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
خشّىيُرْعِبُ يُرْعِب، يُذْعِر
děsitpolekatvystrašit
gøre bangeskræmme
erschrecken Angst machen
pelästyttääpelottaasäikyttää
prestrašiti
hræîa
怖がらせる
겁을 주다
nastrašiť
prestrašiti
skrämma
ทําให้ตกใจ
làm sợ hãi
frighten
[ˈfraɪtn] VT → asustarto be frightened → tener miedo (of a) don't be frightened! → ¡no te asustes!
she is easily frightened → se asusta con facilidad, es asustadiza
to frighten sb into doing sth → convencer a algn con amenazas de que haga algo
I was frightened out of my wits or to death → estaba aterrorizado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
frighten
[ˈfraɪtən] vt → effrayer, faire peur àHorror films frighten him → Les films d'horreur lui font peur.
to frighten sb into doing sth → faire faire qch à qn par l'intimidation
to frighten the life out of sb, to frighten the wits out of sb → faire une peur bleue à qn
frighten away
vt [+ birds, children] → faire fuir, effaroucher frighten off
vt [+ people] → chasser Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
frighten
vt (= give a sudden fright) → erschrecken, Angst einjagen (+dat); (= make scared) → Angst machen (+dat), → Angst einjagen (+dat); (idea, thought) → ängstigen, Angst or Furcht einflößen (+dat); I’m not easily frightened → ich fürchte mich nicht so schnell, ich habe nicht so schnell Angst ; (with threats etc) → so schnell or leicht kann man mir keine Angst machen ; to be frightened by something → vor etw (dat) → erschrecken ; to frighten somebody into agreeing to something → jdm solche Angst machen, dass er/sie einer Sache (dat) → zustimmt ; to frighten the life out of somebody → jdn zu Tode erschrecken
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
frighten
[ˈfraɪtn] vt → spaventare, far paura ato frighten sb out of their wits → far morire qn dallo spavento
to be frightened of sth → avere paura di qc
he was frightened into doing it → l'ha fatto per paura
I was frightened to death → ero morto di paura
frighten away frighten off vt + adv (birds, children) → scacciare (facendogli paura)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
fright
(frait) noun1. a sudden fear. the noise gave me a terrible fright. skrik رُعْب، ذُعـْر страх susto úlek, zděšení der Schrecken skræk; angst; frygt τρόμος, τρομάρα susto ehmatus وحشت pelko peur בהלה भय strah rémület ketakutan ótti, skelkur spavento 恐怖 공포 baimė, išgąstis bailes; izbailes ketakutan schrik skrekk, frykt strach ناڅاپى بېره، خطر susto spaimă испуг strach, zdesenie preplah strah skräck, förskräckelse ความหวาดกลัวขึ้นมาอย่างกระทันหัน anî korku 驚嚇 переляк دہشت sự hoảng sợ 惊吓
2. a person who looks ridiculous. She looks a fright in those clothes. voëlverskrikker شَخْص غَريب مُضْحِك плашило assustador strašák die Vogelscheuche rædsel αυτός που μοιάζει με σκιάχτρο adefesio, espantajo peletis آدم مضحک pelätin épouvantail מבהיל भद्दा दिखने वाला व्यक्ति strašilo rút alak orang yang kelihatannya menggelikan e-r sem er hörmung að sjá persona/cosa ridicola ぎょっとさせるもの 추악한 사람 baidyklė biedēklis; ķēms kelihatan kelakar vogelverschrikker redselsfullt utseende straszydło مضحکه سړی assustador (ca o) sperietoare пугало strašiak strašilo strašilo spöke, fågelskrämma คนที่ดูน่าขบขัน gülünç kimse 怪人 страхіття خوفناک người xấu xí 怪人
stage frightstage ˈfrighten verb to make (someone) afraid. She was frightened by a large dog. bang يُرْعِب، يُذْعِر уплашвам assustar polekat, vystrašit erschrecken gøre bange τρομάζω κπ. asustar kohutama ترساندن pelottaa effrayer לְהַפחִיד डराना uplašiti (se, ili nekoga) megijeszt menakut-nakuti hræða spaventare, spaventarsi こわがらせる 소름끼치게 하다 išgąsdinti izbiedēt; nobiedēt menakut-nakutkan doen schrikken skremme, gjøre redd przestraszyć وېرول، په وخشت كى اچولز assustar a speria пугать nastrašiť prestrašiti prestrašiti skrämma ทําให้กลัว korkutmak 使驚恐 лякати, страхати کسی کو ڈرانا làm hoảng sợ; làm sợ 使惊恐
ˈfrightened adjective bang مذْعور، مَرْعوب уплашен assustado polekaný, vystrašený erschreckt bange; forskrækket τρομαγμένος asustado hirmunud وحشت زده pelästynyt effrayé מְפוּחַד भयभीत prestrašen, uplašen ijedt ketakutan hræddur spaventato おびえた 공포에 질린 išsigandęs izbijies; nobijies menakutkan bang redd, skremt, forskrekket przestraszony په وخشت كى اچولز assustado speriat испуганный vystrašený prestrašen prestrašen rädd, förskräckt ถูกทําให้กลัว korkmuş 受驚的 наляканий ڈر جانا hoảng sợ; khiếp đảm 受惊的
ˈfrightful adjective1. terrible or frightening. I had a frightful experience. vreesaanjaende مُفْزِع، مُريع، مُرْعِب страшен terrível hrozný schrecklich frygtelig; forfærdelig τρομακτικός horroroso kohutav وحشتناک kauhea effroyable מַחרִיד खराब strašan szörnyű menakutkan ógnvekjandi spaventoso 恐ろしい 두려운 baisus, siaubingas briesmīgs; drausmīgs menakutkan verschrikkelijk fryktelig, forferdelig; fæl okropny وېروونكى، سېمناك terrível înspăimântător страшный hrozný grozen zastrašujući förskräcklig, ryslig น่ากลัว korkunç 可怕的 страшний دہشتناک ghê sợ; khủng khiếp 可怕的
2. very bad. He is a frightful liar. swak فَظيع، دَميم، قَبيح ужасен espantoso strašný schrecklich frygtelig; forfærdelig φοβερός espantoso hirmus زیاد kauhea épouvantable נורא भयानक loš, grozan rémes sangat buruk ákaflega mikill terribile ひどい 불쾌한, 지독한 baisus šausmīgs sangat teruk verschrikkelijk fryktelig, forferdelig przerażający وېروونكى espantoso grozav, lamentabil ужасный strašný obupen užasan förfärlig แย่มาก berbat, müthiş 極壞的 страшний بہت برا xấu khinh khủng 极坏的
ˈfrightening adjective vreesaanjaend مُفْزِع، مُريع، مُرْعِب плашещ assustador děsivý schreckerregend forfærdende τρομακτικός espantoso, aterrador ehmatav ترسناک pelottava effrayant מפחיד भयावह, डराने वाला zastrašujuci, koji ulijeva strah ijesztő menakutkan ógnvekjandi spaventoso こわい 깜짝 놀라게 하는 siaubingas biedējošs menakutkan schrikwekkend skremmende, uhyggelig przerażający وېروونكى assustador înfricoşător ужасный desivý grozljiv zastrašujući skrämmande น่ากลัว korkutucu 可怕的 жахливий خوفناک kinh khủng; khủng khiếp 可怕的
ˈfrightfully adverb very. He's frightfully clever. vreeslik بِفَزَع، بِرُعْب، بِفَظاعَه супер espantosamente strašně schrecklich skrækkeligt; frygteligt; forfærdeligt φοβερά terriblemente hirmus بسیار؛ به شدت hirveän terriblement מאוד अत्यन्त strahovito, jako borzasztóan sangat mjög terribilmente おそろしく 깜짝 놀라서 baisiai briesmīgi; ļoti sangat verschrikkelijk meget, svært, uvanlig strasznie په وېروونكى تو ګه espantosamente teribil de ужасно hrozne strašno izuzetno hemskt, rysligt อย่างน่ากลัว çok, pek 非常地 жахливо بہت زیادہ hết sức; cực kỳ 非常地
take fright to become frightened usually suddenly and quickly. She took fright and ran away. geskrik يَفْزَع، يَرْتَعِب изплашвам се assustar-se zděsit se erschrecken blive bange τρομάζω, φοβάμαι asustarse de ehmuma ناگهان وحشت کردن pelästyä prendre peur לְהִבַּהֵל भयभीत होना prestrašiti se, uplašiti se megrémül ketakutan verða hræddur spaventarsi おびえる 두려워하다 išsigąsti nobīties ketakutan bang worden bli forskrekket/redd przestraszyć się په وېروونكى تو ګه assustar-se a i se face frică испугаться vydesiť sa prestrašiti se uplašiti se bli skrämd, få en chock กลัวแบบทันทีทันใด korkmak, korkuya kapılmak 受驚 злякатися اچانک خوف زدہ ہو جانا hết sức hoảng sợ 受惊
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
frighten
→ يُرْعِبُ děsit skræmme erschrecken τρομάζω asustar pelästyttää effrayer prestrašiti spaventare 怖がらせる 겁을 주다 bangmaken skremme przestraszyć assustar пугать skrämma ทําให้ตกใจ korkutmak làm sợ hãi 惊恐Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
frighten
vt asustarEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.