as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
I am frightened of the dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scared
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frightened
Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Business owners in Little Village, which is 81% Hispanic, said customers are too frightened to walk the streets of Chicago’s second busiest commercial corridor.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Carley Coleman, operations director at adjacent Via Vite, said her staff and guests dining at the restaurant were frightened when gunshots rang out.
—David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Adjective
Sitting with the frightened pup, Hawkins tried to offer water from a bottle cap, but the animal wasn’t interested.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Business owners in Little Village, which is 81% Hispanic, said customers are too frightened to walk the streets of Chicago’s second busiest commercial corridor.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
One, frightened, pressed her belly into the pavement.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
Carley Coleman, operations director at adjacent Via Vite, said her staff and guests dining at the restaurant were frightened when gunshots rang out.
—David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightened
Adjective
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Tessa Kluetz Pernell designs interiors that aren’t afraid to make a bold statement.—
Elizabeth Stamp,
Architectural Digest,
3 Nov. 2025
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The Rings of Power, but those are based on proven IP, at a moment when the industry seems afraid to spend big on anything but brand names.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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We weren’t used to being scared by the internet yet.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
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Few books have scared me as much.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Dramatic body cam video shows a terrified boy was being held by the throat when his knife-wielding captor was killed by a deputy, the Florida investigators say.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
3 Nov. 2025
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The disaster forced terrified guests and hotel staff to leap from windows or dangle bedsheets to escape rooms engulfed in smoke and flames.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The boy looked up mid-sob, startled.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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Across America, Halloween spending is expected to reach record levels this year, including large crowds waiting for their chance to be chased, startled and screamed at.—
Isabel Rosales,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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To be honest with you, everyone on the cast is pretty horrified by her behavior.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
7 Nov. 2025
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When the woman ran out of the apartment screaming for help, Burnside turned to his horrified step-daughter, who witnessed the attack on her mom, and began to repeatedly stab her about the body, face and head.—
Thomas Tracy,
Mercury News,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But the tariffs spooked American businesses, prompting a court challenge, contending that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing the tariffs.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
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Guzel allegedly had planned to travel in two weeks to Turkey and onward to Syria from there, but it's believed he got spooked after last week's arrests and moved his flight up, sources said.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The move, widely seen as an abandonment of long-standing arms control traditions, has alarmed diplomats and security analysts worldwide.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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The Crichton Trust’s lawyer Robert Klieger wasn’t so alarmed when contacted by Deadline on Wednesday.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Steelers were shocked by Joe Flacco’s Bengals last week.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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The original movie shocked audiences, and its low-budget aesthetic helped make the madness look even more grisly, macabre and real.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightened. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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