frightened

adjective

fright·​ened ˈfrī-tᵊnd How to pronounce frightened (audio)
: feeling fear : made to feel afraid
a badly frightened child
The farmer was hurrying out into the road, and his wife was standing at the gate, looking very frightened.Anna Sewell

Examples of frightened in a Sentence

I am frightened of the dark
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
But Wall Street doesn't seem as frightened of tariffs anymore. Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 29 July 2025 As of Monday afternoon, Dickson still wasn’t sure whether someone punched through the window, or if her frightened dog, who heard numerous rounds of shots fired throughout the afternoon, tried to break free. Sofi Zeman july 28, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2025 That same day in Queens, a frightened mother woke up to find that a stray bullet had whizzed through her Jamaica home. Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 20 July 2025 In the novel, Harriet Smith, Emma’s socially inferior friend, is frightened and harassed by a band of beggar children. Tom Gliatto, People.com, 19 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for frightened

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of frighten

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of frightened was in 1591

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Frightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frightened. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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