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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Recent Examples of frighten
Lawmakers say that the harsh punishments are necessary to deter students from making hoax threats that frighten students and teachers and waste time and resources to investigate.
—
Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 8 Feb. 2025
An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
—Zameena Mejia, Refinery29, 8 Apr. 2025
The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 8 Feb. 2025
An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
—Zameena Mejia, Refinery29, 8 Apr. 2025
The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frighten
Verb
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The Missouri product is a solid route-runner with sure hands, but there are some off-field concerns that could scare teams away.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Apr. 2025
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As the Trump administration arbitrarily revokes and denies student visas, and xenophobic rhetoric scares away potential foreigners, agencies specializing in recruiting students from abroad are facing a sharp downturn.—
Emma Whitford,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The house that the Americans strategically position themselves in is home to two families; there are occasional insert shots of family photos and trinkets, and at several points these families are shown cowering, terrified by what’s happening around them.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2025
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Addie is gripping onto her seat completely terrified.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That aural reminder punctuates my days now, and frequently startles me.—
Rob Mank,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 Apr. 2025
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But the website also has messages about residents being startled, as Catanzaro was, by stealthy contractors with air guns.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The pick should help the Giants revisit their glory years of terrorizing quarterbacks and give the franchise a defense that should spook opposing offensive coordinators.—
Charlotte Carroll,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
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The softer tariff talk comes as Trump backs away from his scathing remarks about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which had spooked investors.—
Jonathan Easley,
The Hill,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frighten. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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