frightened; frightening
ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈfrīt-niŋ
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.
Examples of frighten in a Sentence
The story really frightened me.
The child was badly frightened by the mask.
Recent Examples on the Web
By sharing a visual insight into their space, Spencer hopes people won’t be frightened by the unknown.
—
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 May 2025
Meanwhile, in the real world, Netflix’s release strategy continues to frighten and confuse.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 19 May 2025
His plan horrified and frightened most Arab leaders, not just on humanitarian grounds but because a large influx of Gazans would destabilize any Arab countries that took them in.
—Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2025
Secretary of Leak Investigations Pete Hegseth parlayed a threat to Iran, delivered on X partly in all caps—nice touch, that’ll frighten them—into third place (20.4 percent).
—George Kalogerakis, Air Mail, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
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.
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 May 2025
Meanwhile, in the real world, Netflix’s release strategy continues to frighten and confuse.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 19 May 2025
His plan horrified and frightened most Arab leaders, not just on humanitarian grounds but because a large influx of Gazans would destabilize any Arab countries that took them in.
—Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2025
Secretary of Leak Investigations Pete Hegseth parlayed a threat to Iran, delivered on X partly in all caps—nice touch, that’ll frighten them—into third place (20.4 percent).
—George Kalogerakis, Air Mail, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frighten. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share