scarier; scariest
1
: causing fright : alarming
a scary story
2
: easily scared : timid
3
: feeling alarm or fright : frightened
scarily adverb

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 Mohan spoke with Variety about the unlikely genesis of the project, the importance of cinema not shying away from sensuality onscreen and how Sweeney was able to make the movie even scarier. William Earl, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 Dear Meghan: How does a parent juggle making sure a child does the right thing (return a shoplifted candy bar, for example) with the very scary fear that the consequences could be life-altering (criminal charges) or worse for a child of color? Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 The bigger concern, for him, is what happens when these one-off scary events — door plugs ripping away mid-flight, etc — start becoming more frequent. Allison Morrow, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 And their whole thing was just: This needs to be really scary. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 The popularity of scary movies is nothing new, however. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 There was a dark, alluring pinball arcade; a giant, slightly scary parking garage; a movie theatre; a food court anchored by an Orange Julius. Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024 People do legitimately scary things in life all the time. Rachel Handler, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2024 For other patients, new health granted new independence, which could be scary too. Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scary was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near scary

Cite this Entry

“Scary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scary. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scary

adjective
ˈske(ə)r-ē How to pronounce scary (audio)
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 adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on scary

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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