as in to frighten
to strike with fear
a ghastly sight that would affright any person
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affright
Verb
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Fernando Najera, director of the California Carnivores Program at UC Davis, said that recent experience showed that mountain lions can learn not to be afraid of technology that once worked to frighten them away from people and livestock.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026 -
Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Would honking unnecessarily scare residents who are already afraid?—
Tim Sullivan,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
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Most of that money would go to compensate ranchers for cattle eaten by wolves and for guard dogs, scaring devices or other means to keep them away from livestock.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Parents in our network describe being terrified, with some fearing their children, many of whom have legal status, could be used as leverage against family members.—
Daniel Anello,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
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The 2026 National Defense Strategy appears to have been drafted not by serious people but by Pentagon officials eager to curry favor with an imperious president and terrified of getting their talking points wrong.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When vertebrate animals are startled, neurons in a brainstem region called the locus coeruleus release norepinephrine, a neuromodulator associated with arousal, along fibers that fan out across the brain.—
Ingrid Wickelgren,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026
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The birth of Endeavor startled Hollywood, but Endeavor’s subsequent takeover of powerhouse William Morris shook the town to its core.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Affright.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affright. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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