Verb
You scared me. I didn't see you there.
Stop that, you're scaring the children. Noun
There have been scares about the water supply being contaminated.
fired over their heads in order to throw a scare into them
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Verb
Nice to know there’s stuff that scares him.—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025 There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Noun
Not every scare serves to scar — some can even edify.—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025 The Revolution provided a brief scare through a 59th-minute goal from Dor Turgeman, who embarrassed a defender before curling home a spectacular effort, but Inter Miami broke the tie almost immediately after the strike that made the score 2-1.—Franco Panizo, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scare
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid
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