scary
adjective
\
Definition of scary
1 : causing fright : alarming a scary story
3 : feeling alarm or fright : frightened
Keep scrolling for more
Other words from scary
\
adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for scary
Synonyms
afraid, aghast, alarmed, fearful, frightened, horrified, horror-struck, hysterical (also hysteric), scared, shocked, spooked, terrified, terrorized
Antonyms
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of scary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Exploring Virginia from the sky was breathtaking but also kind of scary. — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, "Bachelorette Becca Kufrin on That 'Embarrassing' Group Date — and Falling for One 'Standup Man'," 9 July 2018 Some are scarier, meriting check-ins to the hospital or legal wranglings. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "A Cruise-on-Cruise Crash Reveals the Hardest Thing About Self-Driving Tech," 3 July 2018 Plunking down so much money is scary, but the investment proved worth it from our first night in the field. — Aaron Gulley, Outside Online, "Contemplating Solar for Your Road Rig? Do It Already," 6 June 2018 Remember when that scary animated movie, 9, came out the same year as this Nine? — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "Speaking of ‘Life Itself,’ Here Are 5 Bad Movies With Great Casts," 10 July 2018 Here's what happened: The SWAT surprise People on JetBlue flight 1623 got a scary surprise Tuesday night when an armed SWAT team unexpectedly came on board. — Bridget Hallinan, Condé Nast Traveler, "Tuesday Was a Crazy Day for Air Travel," 27 June 2018 More than one person has blamed their nightmares on watching a scary movie late at night. — Louise Matsakis, WIRED, "Do You Dream in Internet? Don’t Freak Out," 23 June 2018 By then there will be new scary movies being promoted. — Joe Dziemianowicz, ajc, "Families shocked by horror-movie trailer before ‘Peter Rabbit’," 29 Apr. 2018 Roller coasters may seem like a very modern type of entertainment, constantly getting bigger, faster and scarier thanks to advances in technology. — Richard Stephens, Smithsonian, "The History and Psychology of Roller Coasters," 12 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for scary
scary
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of scary
: causing fear
See the full definition for scary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
scary
adjective
\
Kids Definition of scary
: causing fright a scary movie
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on scary
What made you want to look up scary? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Name that Food Quiz
-
- Name these cookies!
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share scary
Resources for scary