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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of frightened
Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Videos shared on social media showed multiple fights breaking out in front of an outdoor bar area, followed by a frightened crowd of dozens running away.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Facing cameras and a swath of media in her tiny hometown, Long Rife was not frightened by the prospect of moving cross-country.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Adjective
Angel is frightened, but Rue promises to come back for her.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
Videos shared on social media showed multiple fights breaking out in front of an outdoor bar area, followed by a frightened crowd of dozens running away.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Verb
Chesney had escaped from an outside enclosure on March 25, after being frightened by some unknown barking dogs.
—Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Facing cameras and a swath of media in her tiny hometown, Long Rife was not frightened by the prospect of moving cross-country.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightened
Adjective
-
At the same time, a boy named Henry, who also had to evacuate, is afraid of dogs.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
Native to the Mediterranean, lavender is not afraid of the summer heat.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Police are investigating two recent home burglaries in Los Angeles in which the thieves were confronted by witnesses or scared off by home alarms.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
In 2020, a bout with Covid-19 landed him in the hospital and scared him enough to make some changes.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
The four lead the group of terrified and tiny boys, some who look as young or four- or five-years-old.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
-
Aliens, dystopian nightmares, and twisted realities are more than likely provoking a reaction from viewers that flies a lot closer to terrified.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Victor turned to her, startled.—
‘Pemi Aguda,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
-
The gunfire startled sleeping guests at the Citizen Hotel, which included a wedding party and fans of the rapper Tyler the Creator, who performed at a concert hours earlier.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
To her horrified astonishment, Miss Manners has received a number of letters reporting that guests are taking gross advantage of hospitality by cadging future meals.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
12 May 2026
-
Let’s not confuse slightly horrified admiration for Irina’s determination with admiration for her as a person.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Bond markets have been spooked by the prospect of political change as the obvious challengers, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham, might push for greater government borrowing and spending, which could take gilt yields even higher.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
-
The judge got a little spooked and kicked it down to a lower court.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Erin McClymont’s laboratory has six kitchen freezers, each alarmed.—
Hannah Richter,
Scientific American,
7 May 2026
-
Artificial intelligence, far-right ideologies, voracious capitalism — all of it makes Martel alarmed, seeing it as pushing us collectively to the brink of collapse.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
An Alsip man who drove past Evergreen Park High School at 58 mph and then increased his speed to 75 mph was shocked with a Taser during the traffic stop after releasing a dog from the car and struggling with officers, police said.—
Dennis Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
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In 1959, Levi was shocked to receive a letter informing him that a German publisher by the name of Fischer had just acquired the translation rights to If This Is a Man.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightened. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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