affright

verb

ə-ˈfrīt How to pronounce affright (audio)
Definition of affrightnext
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
  1. frighten
  2. scare
  3. terrify
  4. startle
Verb
  • Taylor contends the company welcomes more FDA scrutiny, and cautions against letting the outbreak frighten consumers away from eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
    — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Studios that let a government inquiry frighten them into caution are not managing risk.
    — Christopher Racster, IndieWire, 23 July 2026
Definition of frighten
Verb
  • The $300 price tag won’t scare off the most intense Star Wars fanatics.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Be a menace to people in the community, driving his boat 70 to 80 miles per hour, driving around scaring the heck out of people, taking people's lives.
    — Lauren Victory, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of scare
Verb
  • He is terrified by it, but at the same time tries to use this instrument of terror so as to be master of it in his turn.
    — Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Cristobal and the Canes are crushing recruiting by every conceivable metric, which should terrify the rest of the country.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrify
Verb
  • The 10-episode first season (critics received six for review) opens in the early hours of the morning, when Anna is startled awake by a phone call.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Witness Hoon Chan Sim, 53, was sitting on a park lawn with his dog near West Drive when he was startled by the squeal of braking tires, and spun around to see the horrific collision.
    — Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026
Definition of startle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

affrays
affright
affrighted
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Cite this Entry

“Affright.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affright. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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