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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frighten
Within my book, one of the things that frightens me most is the fact that with censorship, there’s often not a clear red line, right?
—
Fiction Non Fiction
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Kids will love sending this Dilophosaurus sauntering across the floor, frightening everything and everyone in his path.
—Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Notwithstanding the endless parade of ghosts, demons, serial killers and at least one Mothman, Haunted Hotel is mostly not trying to frighten you.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
What specifically frightens you?
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Fiction Non Fiction
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Kids will love sending this Dilophosaurus sauntering across the floor, frightening everything and everyone in his path.
—Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Notwithstanding the endless parade of ghosts, demons, serial killers and at least one Mothman, Haunted Hotel is mostly not trying to frighten you.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
What specifically frightens you?
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frighten
Verb
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Nice to know there’s stuff that scares him.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sharabi, who is terrified of being held in a tunnel, is being moved to one.—
Eli Sharabi,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
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Aldo had spent his time in the States terrified that he would be deported back to Cuba and jailed.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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First baseman Michael Toglia covered his head, too, and was startled when the ball landed a few feet from him.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
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Sleep may be disturbed by a pet's movements, and dogs may bite if startled.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The black creepy-crawly stands out against the orange to spook visitors of all ages.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Oct. 2025
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Even the suggestion of such a levy, argues Schrieder, could be enough to spook studio executives weighing where to place their next tentpole.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frighten. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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