as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
at the sight of the grizzly bear he froze, being too scared to even run away
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scared
Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
There are those who get it, and the ones who are just too scared to try.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Paloma’s twin brother Gabriel and their younger brother Sebastian recently blamed their mother for their sister’s death, telling BBC in June her conspiracy theories about chemotherapy scared Paloma into refusing treatment.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
And employees often are scared to come to work.
—Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
There are those who get it, and the ones who are just too scared to try.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
What scared you most about playing her?
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Paloma’s twin brother Gabriel and their younger brother Sebastian recently blamed their mother for their sister’s death, telling BBC in June her conspiracy theories about chemotherapy scared Paloma into refusing treatment.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
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Still, other doctors lauded the results and the potential of the pill to reach new patients, such as those who are afraid of needles.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
7 Aug. 2025
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This is what Galpin was afraid would happen to Tyler.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Family pets, especially dogs, are frightened by the noise and will hide or try to run away.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
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In the first Nobody, Odenkirk’s Hutch has to reignite the sleeping assassin within himself after his family was frightened by a botched home invasion.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Two documentaries paint a brutal reality of Vladimir Putin’s regime with the Russian press under siege in My Undesirable Friends, and of hundreds of terrified animals at risk in Checkpoint Zoo, an unusual Ukraine rescue story with Leonardo DiCaprio as EP.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
15 Aug. 2025
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Autumn Rodman/Reddit At that moment, Rodman was terrified.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Moments later, Bell and her sister were startled by a gunshot and found that the boy, Demeir Aston Douglas, shot himself between the eyes in his bedroom, according to prosecutors.—
William Lee,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Aug. 2025
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That’s the clear takeaway from HomeGoods parent TJX’s strong fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and confirmed more recently by e-commerce giant Wayfair’s second quarter financial report, which startled Wall Street with a robust and unexpected 5% surge in second quarter revenue.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Finding the remainder, to me, is a part of long division which left me feeling rather horrified.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
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At the wedding, all of the couple’s guests morph into Sheeran, who leers at the horrified actor.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Still, most of the media coverage has been framed with shocked outrage, and appropriately so.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The mayor’s dismissal of prayer didn’t provide the right tone for the grieving and shocked families.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Given how strong the waves were that day, on August 26, Rawan was increasingly fearful that the dog might not make it.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
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Elite Chinese universities fail to attract applicants China’s historically elite universities face growing pressure from a diverse crop of competitors courting applicants fearful of a brutal labor market.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The Sylvias become alarmed when Nibs claims to be pregnant.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
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Corporate leaders know full well what is happening, and, in private, many of them are surely alarmed about the possible consequences.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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