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
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Verb
But Levine, a social media savvy young millennial, knew the line between sharing and scaring.—Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025 The Wall Street Journal reported that six years after the film was released, the United States Department of Agriculture selected the audio of the scene in question to scare off wolves from killing cattle and livestock on farms across America.—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 4 Aug. 2025
Noun
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have received a scare regarding star quarterback Baker Mayfield.—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2025 With his age and length of service potentially an issue after two health scares, Larson, 77, faces at least three younger challengers: Perry is 35, Fortune 37 and Bronin is 46.—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scare
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid
Share