the bejesus
noun
informal
—used for emphasis after words like scare, frighten, and beat
That movie scared the bejesus out of me.
They beat the bejesus out of the other team.
Examples of the bejesus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That scared the bejesus out of me.
—
Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It has long been assumed that stage plays meant to scare the bejesus out of you were problematic, since much of the art of horror, at least on the big or small screen, relies on manipulated images and sounds or selective camera angles meant to fool or shock viewers.
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2026
The actress first turned heads in movies like The World According to Garp (1982) and The Natural (1984), then scared the bejesus out of unfaithful men everywhere with her chilling turn in Fatal Attraction (1987).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Dec. 2025
That’s a half-century of scaring the bejesus out of generations of movie- and beachgoers.
—Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 19 June 2025
A little over two decades ago, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland scared the bejesus out of audiences with their kinetic reinvention of the zombie apocalypse movie, 28 Days Later.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
The president doesn’t understand why Zelenskyy is not happy with Putin for invading the smaller country and beating the bejesus out of it, for decimating a generation of young Ukrainian soldiers, for breaking ceasefires and committing war crimes.
—Maureen Dowd, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
The play came from Omer Abbas Salem, one of the theater’s own ensemble members, and the young ensemble cast acted the bejesus out of the play, which cannot have been easy, especially given the themes of trauma and loss.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2024
Just about every neighborhood has a house looking to scare the bejesus out of you.
—Troy Smith, Axios, 28 Oct. 2024
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Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It has long been assumed that stage plays meant to scare the bejesus out of you were problematic, since much of the art of horror, at least on the big or small screen, relies on manipulated images and sounds or selective camera angles meant to fool or shock viewers.
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2026
The actress first turned heads in movies like The World According to Garp (1982) and The Natural (1984), then scared the bejesus out of unfaithful men everywhere with her chilling turn in Fatal Attraction (1987).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Dec. 2025
That’s a half-century of scaring the bejesus out of generations of movie- and beachgoers.
—Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 19 June 2025
A little over two decades ago, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland scared the bejesus out of audiences with their kinetic reinvention of the zombie apocalypse movie, 28 Days Later.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
The president doesn’t understand why Zelenskyy is not happy with Putin for invading the smaller country and beating the bejesus out of it, for decimating a generation of young Ukrainian soldiers, for breaking ceasefires and committing war crimes.
—Maureen Dowd, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
The play came from Omer Abbas Salem, one of the theater’s own ensemble members, and the young ensemble cast acted the bejesus out of the play, which cannot have been easy, especially given the themes of trauma and loss.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2024
Just about every neighborhood has a house looking to scare the bejesus out of you.
—Troy Smith, Axios, 28 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“The bejesus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20bejesus. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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