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
EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
His most capricious unilateral budget decisions have frayed the safety net, burdened veterans and frightened retirees who wonder what might become of Social Security.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
In the first Nobody, Odenkirk’s Hutch has to reignite the sleeping assassin within himself after his family was frightened by a botched home invasion.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Adjective
However frightened Impacciatore might have been, the frenetic energy aided her performance.
—EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
His most capricious unilateral budget decisions have frayed the safety net, burdened veterans and frightened retirees who wonder what might become of Social Security.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
Family pets, especially dogs, are frightened by the noise and will hide or try to run away.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
In the first Nobody, Odenkirk’s Hutch has to reignite the sleeping assassin within himself after his family was frightened by a botched home invasion.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightened
Adjective
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When people aren’t afraid to flag phishing emails, report missteps or question suspicious behavior, organizations become more adaptive and resilient.—
Aliasgar Dohadwala,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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According to new research from SoFi, 44% of students and parents feel uninformed about student loans but are probably too afraid to ask questions.—
Brian Walsh,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His home’s security system was triggered and reportedly scared off the burglar, and nothing was stolen from the property.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Some users were scared by the object.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Ed and Lorraine are the beautiful, tragic saviors of a terrified family confronted with a deep evil, strengthened by the power of their love for each other.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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Parents are terrified, doctors are overwhelmed, and public confidence in our nation’s health leadership has collapsed.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Then the Buckel brothers arrived, intent on doing the same, and Smith was startled.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Another Epstein accuser looked up, startled, to see where the deafening sound was coming from.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hoffman can’t help but cut me off in horrified pity.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
27 Aug. 2025
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Finding the remainder, to me, is a part of long division which left me feeling rather horrified.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When a truck backfires on the street outside her office, a colleague is spooked, but Ziva stays perfectly calm — a moment that gains added importance soon enough.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
4 Sep. 2025
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But the deployment of—among others—three destroyers, at least one submarine and an amphibious ready group (ARG) filled with Marines is a further deterioration in the poor relationship between Washington and Caracas that appears to have spooked Maduro.—
Ellie Cook
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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His promotion of conspiracy theories claiming vaccines cause autism, linking antidepressants to school shootings and even suggesting WiFi causes cancer alarmed healthcare professionals and Democratic lawmakers.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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For Salvadorans and deportees alike, what awaits inside these prisons has alarmed advocates.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The audience was shocked – which is just what Gaga envisioned.—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Two months ago, Justin Bieber shocked the world with his excellent Swag, his first album in four years.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightened. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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