scare

1 of 3

verb

ˈsker 

scared; scaring

transitive verb

: to frighten especially suddenly : alarm

intransitive verb

: to become scared

scarer noun

scare

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: a sudden fright

2

: a widespread state of alarm : panic

scare adjective

scarer

3 of 3

noun (2)

scar·​er

ˈskerə(r), 

ˈska(a)r-

plural -s

: one that scares

rooks … haunted the newly sown fields, and rose in clouds at the scarers shout

—Adrian Bell

Synonyms of scare

Verb

• frighten
• terrify
• startle

Noun (1)

• fear
• anxiety
• fearfulness
• panic

Examples of scare in a Sentence

Verb

You scared me. I didn't see you there.

Stop that, you're scaring the children.

Noun (1)

There have been scares about the water supply being contaminated.

fired over their heads in order to throw a scare into them

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Cape Verde scare, then, might have served as a useful wakeup call. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 7 July 2026

In the background, an adult voice shouts at the bear, helping to scare the animal off. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026

Noun

Then came the sentence every pet parent wants to hear after a scare like this. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026

Horror movies put butts in seats, and this summer doesn’t have many other straight-down-the-middle scares in store for audiences. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid

First Known Use

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (1)

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scare

• bomb scare
• frighten/scare the life out of
• jump-scare
• scare away/off
• scare into
• scare quotes
• scare someone to death
• scare up

Rhymes for scare

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• err
• eyre
• fair

Kids Definition

scare

1 of 2 verb

ˈske(ə)r 

ˈska(ə)r

scared; scaring

1

: to frighten suddenly : alarm

2

: to become scared

scare

2 of 2 noun

1

: a sudden fright

2

: a widespread state of alarm : panic