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

These policies—or the lack of them—have harmed long-range educational and employment outcomes, eroded public health, entrenched inequality, discouraged couples from having children, and stressed the bejesus out of parents. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

In its 11th annual Primetime program, the Toronto International Film Festival is bringing audiences together — to scare the bejesus out of them. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 July 2026

This isn’t a film about trauma, or smuggled-in social issues, or anything at all, really, besides the honest workaday business of scaring the bejesus out of its audience, rinsing, and repeating with extra vigor. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026

That scared the bejesus out of me. — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026