as in to scare
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
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Recent Examples of frighten
Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.
—
Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Mariana, for example, wrote about children being frightened by school shootings.
—Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 16 Jan. 2026
While some passengers were said to have been frightened and crying, witnesses to the crash didn’t immediately believe there were any serious injuries.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
The post-protest reprisals are meant to frighten people into silence.
—Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Mariana, for example, wrote about children being frightened by school shootings.
—Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 16 Jan. 2026
While some passengers were said to have been frightened and crying, witnesses to the crash didn’t immediately believe there were any serious injuries.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
The post-protest reprisals are meant to frighten people into silence.
—Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frighten
Verb
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As federal agents try to scare and provoke, in a way that could easily undermine the cause, such training is essential to ensure peaceful protesters do not take the bait.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The presence or the expectation of violence scares people away from democracy.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are things to be terrified of.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
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Like the strung-up coyotes, the Ghoul typically looks normal from afar but terrifying up close.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Twyla Tharp’s ballet Push Comes to Shove, which premiered in 1976, startled and delighted audiences with its coy, self-referential humor, and its flirtation with popular dance styles such as jazz and tango.—
Sara Krolewski,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
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After several chest compressions, Briana startled awake and cried.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But investors were spooked and dumped shares in legal and financial software and services companies.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The new model’s research and analysis abilities are likely what spooked financial services investors on Friday.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frighten. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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