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

The stranger’s hollow cheeks, his dark eyes, whose lashes always appeared wet, the bony shoulders that protruded from the singlet Chee Meng had lent him—all of it frightened Shawn. — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Families confronting a devastating diagnosis may already be frightened, grieving and overwhelmed. — Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Adjective

My Broken Brain follows three young survivors through the most frightening days of their lives and the grueling journey back to independence. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026

Compulsory worship with frightening dogma, which could lead you equally plausibly to heaven or hell. — Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 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