frighten
verb
\
ˈfrīt-niŋ
\
Definition of frighten
1 : to make afraid : terrify The movie scene frightened the child.
2 : to drive or force by frightening frightened the boy into confessing
: to become frightened She doesn't frighten easily.
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Other Words from frighten
ˈfrīt-niŋ-lē
\
adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for frighten
Synonyms
alarm (also alarum), fright, horrify, panic, scare, shock, spook, startle, terrify, terrorize
Antonyms
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Examples of frighten in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Using a surgical blade is frightening to me because one, somebody got their hands on it, too, to put it in to cause injury. — Natalie Dreier, ajc, "Woman says she was cut by razor blade stuck in Walmart shopping cart handle," 10 July 2018 Having policymakers in Washington attack our right to exist by law is frightening on a level that is difficult to describe. — Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, "Transgender Actress Indya Moore Hopes Pose Will Help Trump's White House ‘See Our Humanity’," 1 June 2018 Here’s his explanation of why men are frightened of women. — Laurie Penny, Longreads, "Peterson’s Complaint," 12 July 2018 Willis thanked everyone for their comments and assured his friends he wasn't frightened at all. — Jennifer Earl, Fox News, "Great white shark sneaks up on California kayaker fishing for halibut," 6 July 2018 Should the thought of Thursday morning not frighten you away from filling Independence Night with fireworks and celebration, Central Florida has plenty of free patriotic parties. — Trevor Fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Fireworks still a good reason to gather," 28 June 2018 Front Street, Bradshaw and other shelters are bracing for their busiest weeks of the year, when the bangs and pops of celebratory fireworks frighten animals and send them running. — Cynthia Hubert, sacbee, "Free pet microchips available in Sacramento County before Fourth of July," 19 June 2018 Kelly was brave, Rachel said, so being the lone employee working overnight didn’t frighten her. — Juliet Muir, NBC News, "Missing persons case of Virginia mother Kelly Bergh-Dove remains unsolved 36 years later," 17 June 2018 No, the subject matter didn’t frighten me as much as doing a one-woman show. — Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, "Carey Mulligan, Facing the Fear of Being Alone Onstage," 13 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frighten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for frighten
frighten
verb
English Language Learners Definition of frighten
: to cause (someone) to become afraid
: to become afraid
See the full definition for frighten in the English Language Learners Dictionary
frighten
verb
\
Kids Definition of frighten
: to make afraid : terrify
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