scare

1 of 2

verb

scared; scaring

transitive verb

: to frighten especially suddenly : alarm
scarer noun

scare

2 of 2

noun

1
: a sudden fright
2
: a widespread state of alarm : panic
scare adjective

Examples of scare in a Sentence

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

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

circa 1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scare was in the 13th century

Cite this Entry

“Scare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scare. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

scare

1 of 2 verb
ˈske(ə)r How to pronounce scare (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on scare

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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