as in frightens
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 affrights
Verb
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The piercing sunlight frightens her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026 -
Like the 1987 Kurt Vonnegut novel from which the restaurant took its name, Bluebeard encourages guests to drop their guard, surround themselves with other people and try something that frightens them a little.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The idea of frightening children into basic courtesy scares Miss Manners.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
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Geopolitical scares that faded and allowed oil prices to recede.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Frankly, the thought of being beaten by the subscribers terrifies me.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Aubry Bracco is the kind of player who terrifies a certain (male) demographic of Survivor alumni.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If hypotheticals about what could have been are a good dream for New York Knicks fans, then Mikal Bridges is the alarm clock that startles them awake.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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The project, which Steinberger has rebranded multiple times—evolving from Clawdbot to Moltbot and finally to OpenClaw—largely owing to politics—has expanded at a pace that startles even seasoned AI experts.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Affrights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affrights. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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