affright

1 of 2

verb

af·​fright ə-ˈfrīt 

affrighted; affrighting; affrights

transitive verb

archaic

: frighten, alarm

Not that! Not that!—I tell thee, holy man, / Thy raiments and thy ebony cross affright me!

—Edgar Allen Poe

affright

2 of 2

noun

archaic

: sudden and great fear : terror

Synonyms of affright

Verb

• frighten
• scare
• terrify
• startle

Examples of affright in a Sentence

Verb

a ghastly sight that would affright any person

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English afrighten, probably derivative of afright, afyrht (12th century) "frightened," going back to Old English āfyrht, past participle of āfyrhtan "to frighten," from ā-, perfective prefix + fyrhtan "to frighten" — more at abide, fright entry 2

Noun

derivative of affright entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1596, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for affright

• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight
• calcite

Kids Definition

affright

verb

af·​fright

ə-ˈfrīt

archaic

: frighten sense 1, alarm