as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
at the sight of the grizzly bear he froze, being too scared to even run away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scared
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2026
Stickler then runs looking scared into her daughter’s bedroom, relieved to find the child there.
—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Dylan Lysen,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
Just as Jenner passed by, DeGeneres suddenly popped out from her hiding place and scared the 70-year-old reality star.
—
Kathleen Perricone,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
Texts, screen grabs, recordings and other records recovered from a search of Rinderknecht’s cellphones and presented in court portrayed a man who was by turns lonely and livid, angry at billionaires and ex-romantic partners while seemingly scared about his own declining mental health.
—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2026
Stickler then runs looking scared into her daughter’s bedroom, relieved to find the child there.
—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Verb
However, the World Cup seems to have scared many of those other events away.
—
Dylan Lysen,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
Just as Jenner passed by, DeGeneres suddenly popped out from her hiding place and scared the 70-year-old reality star.
—
Kathleen Perricone,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
-
The ruling leaves trans student-athletes and their advocates feeling angry and afraid.
-
Pregnant mothers are afraid of their babies not being able to have a home.
Verb
-
But her outbursts frightened the children too.
-
What frightened me most was what might happen to my children.
Adjective
-
Campbell found the minister on the ground, terrified and in pain.
-
Videos show terrified residents and collapsed buildings across Venezuela as powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck the northern coast of the country.
Verb
-
Comcast startled the industry and Wall Street with the split news early Monday, which comes just a few months after NBCU’s cable networks were spun off into a new company, Versant Media.
-
Hyland said he’s been startled by how close the construction barges come to shore.
Adjective
-
The first police officer on the scene quickly ran back to the station for help, while neighbors calmed the horrified Lizzie.
-
As a horrified Sam inadvertently observes, a creature has been sating itself on his buddy’s brain.
Adjective
-
Pochettino says while making a shocked face.
-
Her mom was incredibly proud — and a bit shocked — that a Black man had been elected president.
Adjective
-
Many are fearful of being out in places with heightened law enforcement or even sending their children to school.
-
Despite a strong climate track record, Starmer had avoided talking much about the issue publicly, fearful of how voters would receive it.
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
