scary

adjective

ˈsker-ē 

scarier; scariest

1

: causing fright : alarming

a scary story

2

: easily scared : timid

3

: feeling alarm or fright : frightened

scarily

ˈsker-ə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of scary

• terrifying
• frightening
• formidable
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating

Examples of scary in a Sentence

a scary movie that gave the child nightmares for weeks afterwards

a scary horse who spooked and kicked at its own shadow

Recent Examples on the Web

Given Cregger’s scary-good track record, this one may be as refreshing as a life-giving green herb. — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

Across more than 1,800 videos, a long-running podcast, live events, and a subscriber base of 7 million, Dead Meat does more than champion scary movies. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 15 July 2026

Some of them are scary, but some of them, harnessed correctly, might help us with some very human problems that pre-date the emergence of the LLM. — John Werner, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

But, if people have been suffering from the elevated air temperatures, the really scary numbers come from the ocean sensors. — Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for scary

• aerie
• airy
• arie
• barre
• cherry
• clary
• dairy
• eyrie
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• ferry

Kids Definition

scary

adjective

ˈske(ə)r-ē 

ˈska(ə)r-

scarier; scariest

1

: causing fright : alarming

a scary movie

2

: easily scared : timid

3

: feeling alarm or fright : scared, frightened

scary feeling

scarily

-ə-lē 

adverb