Definition of frighten
frightened
;frightening
play \ˈfrī-tən-iŋ, ˈfrīt-niŋ\transitive verb
1 : to make afraid : terrify The movie scene frightened the child.
2 : to drive or force by frightening frightened the boy into confessing
intransitive verb
: to become frightened She doesn't frighten easily.
From the M-W Editors
Examples of frighten in a Sentence
The story really frightened me.
The child was badly frightened by the mask.
Recent Examples of frighten from the Web
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No one would be killed, but the fires left this red county in a blue state both focused and frightened.
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Criminals also wield their cellphones like weapons to frighten and steal from unsuspecting people.
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The dynamic of this beauty contests has swung sharply in recent years, as the cost of hosting has frightened even wealthy cities such as Boston, Stockholm and Hamburg out of pursuing their bids.
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The fact that people could have rich, varied sex lives without ever leaving their couches both fascinated and frightened her.
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This might frighten away some of the transplants accustomed to the manicured chaininess of Scottsdale, but no true barbecue lover worries about such things.
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Garshelis and Kasworm added that the behavior of the mother bear indicates it was likely frightened by Roseman's boat.
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The sun going dark in the middle of the day understandably frightened our ancient (and not so ancient) ancestors.
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And some of the things that have happened recently have really frightened me.
These 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.
Origin and Etymology of frighten
see 1fright
FRIGHTEN Defined for English Language Learners
frighten
playDefinition of frighten for English Language Learners
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: to cause (someone) to become afraid
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: to become afraid
FRIGHTEN Defined for Kids
Learn More about frighten
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See words that rhyme with frighten Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for frighten Spanish Central: Translation of frighten Nglish: Translation of frighten for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of frighten for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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