as in terrifies
to strike with fear
around the campfire the campers tried to frighten one another with ghostly legends and grisly tales
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Recent Examples of frightens
The piercing sunlight frightens her.
—
Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Like the 1987 Kurt Vonnegut novel from which the restaurant took its name, Bluebeard encourages guests to drop their guard, surround themselves with other people and try something that frightens them a little.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Baker says what frightens her most is whether younger generations will ever be able to step off that wheel — to build generational wealth through homeownership.
—Elizabeth Prann, The Hill, 10 Nov. 2025
What specifically frightens you?
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025
Many of us are conditioned to think that our ultimate goal in life is to be with someone, so much so, that the mere thought of being alone frightens us.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Like the 1987 Kurt Vonnegut novel from which the restaurant took its name, Bluebeard encourages guests to drop their guard, surround themselves with other people and try something that frightens them a little.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Baker says what frightens her most is whether younger generations will ever be able to step off that wheel — to build generational wealth through homeownership.
—Elizabeth Prann, The Hill, 10 Nov. 2025
What specifically frightens you?
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 15 Sep. 2025
Many of us are conditioned to think that our ultimate goal in life is to be with someone, so much so, that the mere thought of being alone frightens us.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frightens
Verb
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Aubry Bracco is the kind of player who terrifies a certain (male) demographic of Survivor alumni.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
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What terrifies Iran’s theocrats the most, the fear that eclipses all their fears, is the ability of the people at large to clearly see the essential realities of the present regime.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Geopolitical scares that faded and allowed oil prices to recede.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
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He’s also been involved in multiple injury scares to star players in the last year.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If hypotheticals about what could have been are a good dream for New York Knicks fans, then Mikal Bridges is the alarm clock that startles them awake.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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The project, which Steinberger has rebranded multiple times—evolving from Clawdbot to Moltbot and finally to OpenClaw—largely owing to politics—has expanded at a pace that startles even seasoned AI experts.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Frightens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frightens. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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