frighten into
phrasal verb
frightened into; frightening into; frightens into
: to cause (someone) to do (something) because of fear
The insurance agent tried to frighten her into buying the most expensive flood insurance.
They frightened the boy into confessing his crime.
Examples of frighten into in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Latino journalists spoke about the difficulty of covering some stories because people have been frightened into silence due to the administration’s immigration crackdown.
—
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frighten into.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frighten%20into. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share