as in frightens
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
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Recent Examples of scares
When Nora starts to leave the room, Cantrell scares her, showing that Nora had the cream all over her face.
—
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
The only person on this earth who scares me is God.
—Colin Millar, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But for real chills and scares, the granddaddy The Blair Witch Project still is the crown jewel.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 Jan. 2026
Is there somewhere that scares you?
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
The burgeoning star forward was battered and bruised throughout the night, playing through brief injury scares to a knee and an elbow.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2026
Ho-jin has trouble understanding Mu-hee, which scares him.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
What scares those in the world of pediatrics, though, is imagining how the new schedule could play out over time.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 6 Jan. 2026
What's the thing that scares me the most?
—NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
The only person on this earth who scares me is God.
—Colin Millar, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But for real chills and scares, the granddaddy The Blair Witch Project still is the crown jewel.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 Jan. 2026
Is there somewhere that scares you?
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
The burgeoning star forward was battered and bruised throughout the night, playing through brief injury scares to a knee and an elbow.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 19 Jan. 2026
Ho-jin has trouble understanding Mu-hee, which scares him.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
What scares those in the world of pediatrics, though, is imagining how the new schedule could play out over time.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 6 Jan. 2026
What's the thing that scares me the most?
—NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scares
Verb
-
Like the 1987 Kurt Vonnegut novel from which the restaurant took its name, Bluebeard encourages guests to drop their guard, surround themselves with other people and try something that frightens them a little.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
What terrifies Iran’s theocrats the most, the fear that eclipses all their fears, is the ability of the people at large to clearly see the essential realities of the present regime.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
-
And this absolutely terrifies me.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As the dolphin gets closer to the glass, the Chihuahua lets out a bark that startles the dolphin, who then starts mimicking the dog's mouth movements in a sort of chasing game across species.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scares. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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