scare away/off
phrasal verb
scared away/off; scaring away/off; scares away/off
: to cause (someone or something) to go away and stay away because of fear or because of possible trouble, difficulty, etc.
The dog scared the prowler away.
The noise scared off the birds.
Tourists have been scared off by the recent violence in the city.
Examples of scare away/off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That will scare off a number of teams, but Morrison plays with a very high skill level.
—
Steve Silverman, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
That would scare away moderate voters and help Trump keep a congressional majority in both chambers.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
Forcing countries to take a loss on their U.S. bond holdings will scare away future buyers and, if the swap is involuntary, may even be classified as a default by credit rating agencies.
—Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025
Sea cucumbers can eject part of their guts out of their mouth to scare off predators.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scare away/off
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Steve Silverman, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
That would scare away moderate voters and help Trump keep a congressional majority in both chambers.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
Forcing countries to take a loss on their U.S. bond holdings will scare away future buyers and, if the swap is involuntary, may even be classified as a default by credit rating agencies.
—Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025
Sea cucumbers can eject part of their guts out of their mouth to scare off predators.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scare away/off
Cite this Entry
“Scare away/off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scare%20away%2Foff. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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