as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
I am frightened of the dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of frightened
Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
This version of Frankenstein’s monster enters the world as a frightened newborn babe, scared and curious and desperate for human affection.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Adjective
Farima was withdrawn and frightened.
—Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
This version of Frankenstein’s monster enters the world as a frightened newborn babe, scared and curious and desperate for human affection.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
There are liberals in media, but the corporations are now either controlled by the right wing or frightened of it.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for frightened
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightened
Adjective
-
Even with more women 55 and older in the workforce than ever before, women often are afraid to talk about menopause in the office.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Bohemian homes are never afraid of color, particularly when AD100 designer Justina Blakeney is involved.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There are certainly no major factors like physical abuse during our childhood; however, our mother had some psychological problems and showed some anger and paranoia symptoms, which scared us as children and were overt enough that many in our town knew about her.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
25 Sep. 2025
-
There are certainly no major factors like physical abuse during our childhood, however, our mother had some psychological problems and showed some anger and paranoia symptoms, which scared us as children and were overt enough that many in our town knew about her.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Denver Post,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Kim Kardashian was left terrified after learning someone put out a hit on her life.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
With every temptation, Jesus is lured into a forbidden world, and a terrified Joseph soon realizes that a demonic power is at work.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
First baseman Michael Toglia covered his head, too, and was startled when the ball landed a few feet from him.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Sleep may be disturbed by a pet's movements, and dogs may bite if startled.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
He is then seen collapsing on the dance floor in front of horrified guests.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The Prime Video series ends with a horrified Daniel looking at Cherry, who's shown smiling at him with her hands calmly resting on very pregnant belly.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
You may have been spooked by the early arrival of Halloween merchandise in retail outlets, some of it around the Fourth of July.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Eagles exec Howie Roseman traded up a spot and got the defensive tackle ninth after off-field behavior spooked some teams.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This is nothing to be alarmed over.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
3 Oct. 2025
-
China, in particular, has in recent years alarmed Washington with its rapid progress in chip and AI technologies, prompting the blacklisting of Huawei in 2019 and hundreds of others in subsequent years.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Florida family of a man who was recently was deported to Venezuela despite having TPS at the time said they were shocked by the ruling and afraid they could be detained and deported at any time.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
-
The case shocked the nation and Gein became a pop culture boogeyman whose crimes inspired numerous horror films, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, and The Silence of the Lambs.—
Katie Mannion,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightened. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share