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
Some impersonated tax officers to frighten British pensioners into draining their life savings into suspicious bank accounts; others peddled irresistible student loan offers to American high schoolers.
—
Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Don’t be frightened, though, fans; The Parent Trap gal is still in the competition!
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
When the Maitlands' attempts to frighten the Deetzes away fail miserably, Barbara and Adam turn to the mysterious and mischievous Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to rid them of the living.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Homelessness While Americans are frightened by many things and events, most are not fearful of tent camps or homeless people.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Don’t be frightened, though, fans; The Parent Trap gal is still in the competition!
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
When the Maitlands' attempts to frighten the Deetzes away fail miserably, Barbara and Adam turn to the mysterious and mischievous Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to rid them of the living.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Homelessness While Americans are frightened by many things and events, most are not fearful of tent camps or homeless people.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frighten
Verb
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That’s something that scares me a little bit about not just theater, but people giving any opinions about any business.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Nov. 2025
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Allow your emotions, even the ones that scare you, to come and go without judgment.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Here's why some people are terrified of clusters of holesNeed a news break?—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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From slasher homages like Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue to esoteric but no less worthy films like Belladonna of Sadness, these works possess a power to shock and terrify.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Across America, Halloween spending is expected to reach record levels this year, including large crowds waiting for their chance to be chased, startled and screamed at.—
Isabel Rosales,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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White disappears completely into the role without skirting parody, portraying the exhausted hitmaker as startled by his own numbness, blanked out and unsure of what to do next.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That confidence spooks your rivals!—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
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Advertisement Blau and Bloomberg are clearly not and have been spooked by the idea of a Mamdani mayorship.—
Evan Friss,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frighten. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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