scare away/off
phrasal verb
scared away/off; scaring away/off; scares away/off
: to cause (someone or something) to go away and stay away because of fear or because of possible trouble, difficulty, etc.
The dog scared the prowler away.
The noise scared off the birds.
Tourists have been scared off by the recent violence in the city.
Examples of scare away/off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Threatening providers with a cascade of utility rules and price controls, on the other hand, will only scare off the complementary private investment urgently needed to complete the build.
—
Lindsay Lewis, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
The combination of Velcro and textured hair, however, may be enough to scare off some DIY novices looking to avoid tangly situations and James Brown comparisons.
—Tayler Adigun, Essence, 16 May 2024
When the driver tried to back up and scare off the animal by honking, the bear slammed the vehicle with its paw, cracking the windshield diagonally.
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024
Many consumers are expressing frustration at the surge in fast-food prices, which are starting to scare off budget-conscious customers.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 9 May 2024
Its designers didn’t want to scare off users by mentioning a scarily technical topic like VPN.
—PCMAG, 30 Apr. 2024
Law enforcement fired their weapons to scare off the cougar, which was found by game wardens and trappers and euthanized later that evening near the scene of the attack.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 25 Mar. 2024
The creativity of Detroiters takes center stage with eccentric garb aimed to scare away any sightings of the evil hobgoblin.
—Detroit Free Press, 20 Mar. 2024
Indigenous people say armed miners threaten them, scare off wild game, and pollute rivers with mercury – poisoning the fish and their drinking water.
—Ana Ionova, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024
Lindsay Lewis, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
The combination of Velcro and textured hair, however, may be enough to scare off some DIY novices looking to avoid tangly situations and James Brown comparisons.
—Tayler Adigun, Essence, 16 May 2024
When the driver tried to back up and scare off the animal by honking, the bear slammed the vehicle with its paw, cracking the windshield diagonally.
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024
Many consumers are expressing frustration at the surge in fast-food prices, which are starting to scare off budget-conscious customers.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 9 May 2024
Its designers didn’t want to scare off users by mentioning a scarily technical topic like VPN.
—PCMAG, 30 Apr. 2024
Law enforcement fired their weapons to scare off the cougar, which was found by game wardens and trappers and euthanized later that evening near the scene of the attack.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 25 Mar. 2024
The creativity of Detroiters takes center stage with eccentric garb aimed to scare away any sightings of the evil hobgoblin.
—Detroit Free Press, 20 Mar. 2024
Indigenous people say armed miners threaten them, scare off wild game, and pollute rivers with mercury – poisoning the fish and their drinking water.
—Ana Ionova, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scare away/off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scare away/off
Cite this Entry
“Scare away/off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scare%20away%2Foff. Accessed 2 Jun. 2024.
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