affrighted 1 of 2

adjective

as in frightened
filled with fear or dread the affrighted villagers ran in all directions at the first sight of the monster

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

affrighted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of affright
as in scared
to strike with fear a ghastly sight that would affright any person

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for affrighted
  1. frightened
  2. scared
  3. terrified
  4. startled
  5. afraid
  6. horrified
  7. alarmed
  8. fearful
Adjective
  • Defense challenges claims of disruption Sabatini sought to undermine the university’s account by distinguishing between students feeling frightened and actual interruptions to academic activities.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Trust is how that knowledge reaches the next child, and the next frightened mother.
    — Michelle A. Williams, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of frightened
Verb
  • Aramayo is candid about the fear, as well as the script that scared him.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026
  • That’s a $69,000 per-screen average — a far cry from La La Land ($176K) or even Anora ($91K), but in line with the likes of Poor Things and I, Tonya, showing that the streamers’ imprimatur hasn’t scared off theatrical audiences.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • Follicularly stuck in the 2000s, the vast majority of us are terrified short hair will age us.
    — Molly Mulshine, InStyle, 30 Oct. 2026
  • His novels are absolute master classes in how much to reveal, how much to leave to the reader’s terrified imagination.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of terrified
Verb
  • Surveillance footage & evidence Police reviewed surveillance footage in the area, which showed the two gunshot victims walking, then appear startled, according to court records.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
  • However, startled by the activation of the security system, the suspect fled the scene without stealing any loot.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of startled
Adjective
  • Haitians in South Florida who lost Temporary Protected Status have lost their jobs and are afraid to step outside.
    — Isvett Verde, Time, 10 Nov. 2026
  • And the chain’s workers weren’t afraid to call her out on mistakes.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • Photos from the scene show several UTSA members surrounding the airman on the field after the fatal fall, as medics tended to him in front of horrified spectators.
    — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Gomez, 67, recalled, watching as responding officers pulled a horrified boy from the car.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of horrified
Adjective
  • Since Melanie Federline’s arrest, details in the arrest warrant about loose pills and the use of allergy medicine in the home as a sleep aid have alarmed physicians and child welfare experts.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
  • In New York and then Kansas City, Morgenthau grew alarmed as the United States watched Nazi Germany rearm, annex Austria, and invade Czechoslovakia.
    — David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of alarmed
Adjective
  • The previous June, during a COVID wave in Moscow, his wife, Anna Matveeva, a photographer and a film editor, had caught the virus, and Zvyagintsev, who had a long-standing lung condition and was fearful of falling ill, went to stay in his office.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • For that reason, Corron cast his ballot for Ciscomani, fearful of what might happen if Democrats take control of Congress.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of fearful
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

affright
affrighted
affrighting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Affrighted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affrighted. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All