Synonyms of frighten

frighten 1 of 3

verb (1)

ˈfrī-tᵊn 

as in to scare

to strike with fear

around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scare
• terrify
• startle
• spook
• shock
• horrify
• terrorize
• shake
• panic
• fright
• alarm
• affright
• scarify
• distract
• amaze
• worry
• appall
• disturb
• give one the creeps
• jolt
• unsettle
• astound
• make one's flesh creep
• upset
• unnerve
• shake up
• daunt
• dismay
• awe
• dispirit
• emasculate
• disconcert
• distress
• perturb
• discomfort
• demoralize
• floor
• unman
• disquiet
• bowl over
• psych (out)
• undo
• discompose
• unstring
• chill

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassure
• assure
• soothe
• cheer
• comfort
• encourage
• inspire
• console
• steel
• embolden
• solace
• hearten

frightening

2 of 3

adjective

ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 

as in terrifying

causing fear

a truly frightening movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

• terrifying
• scary
• formidable
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating
• alarming
• shocking
• dread
• horrifying
• fearful
• startling
• eerie
• creepy
• dreadful
• frightful
• ghastly
• disturbing
• troubling
• gruesome
• forbidding
• fearsome
• dire
• spine-chilling
• horrendous
• trying
• threatening
• unnerving
• hair-raising
• redoubtable
• disconcerting
• direful
• discouraging
• daunting
• disquieting
• demoralizing
• perturbing
• distressing
• dismaying
• weird
• hideous
• nightmarish
• appalling
• grisly
• macabre
• awful
• monstrous
• horrid
• bone-chilling
• atrocious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• comforting
• soothing
• relaxing
• calming
• inviting
• consoling
• tranquilizing
• nonthreatening
• quieting
• lulling
• pacifying
• nonintimidating

frightening

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of frighten

as in scaring

to strike with fear

around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales

Synonyms & Similar Words

• terrifying
• scaring
• startling
• shocking
• spooking
• horrifying
• alarming
• shaking
• terrorizing
• panicking
• frighting
• scarifying
• amazing
• worrying
• appalling
• distracting
• affrighting
• disturbing
• jolting
• unsettling
• dismaying
• upsetting
• astounding
• giving one the creeps
• daunting
• making one's flesh creep
• unnerving
• distressing
• disconcerting
• disquieting
• shaking up
• dispiriting
• discomforting
• awing
• bowling over
• emasculating
• perturbing
• chilling
• demoralizing
• undoing
• psyching (out)
• flooring
• unmanning
• discomposing
• unstringing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• comforting
• assuring
• soothing
• cheering
• consoling
• encouraging
• inspiring
• solacing
• emboldening
• heartening
• steeling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of frighten

Verb

Fireworks can frighten animals and send them scattering, but Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets apparently are made of sterner stuff. — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

In those moments, what frightened her most was not her own safety but the knowledge that her husband was up there somewhere, flying in the same sky swarming with fighter planes dropping their bombs on Tehran. — Mahsa Alimardani, Time, 6 July 2026

Adjective

And while the thought of tiny bugs inhibiting our eyelashes sounds rather frightening, the reality is far less startling. — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 16 July 2026

Cillian Murphy nabbed an Oscar for his haunted performance as the former UC Berkeley professor and physicist whose groundbreaking work led to one of the most frightening, formidable scientific discoveries in all of mankind. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 July 2026

Verb

Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth. — Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026

But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2026