as in to scare
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for psych (out)
Verb
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Carter Taylor of Kansas City, an elementary school educator and legislative chair for the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, said efforts to privatize education should scare parents.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025 -
Playing on parental fears, The Babadook has been scaring the daylights out of us for a solid decade now.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There are no effective repellents or devices that frighten away raccoons.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
18 Oct. 2025
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One, frightened, pressed her belly into the pavement.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But hiring off-duty cops to intimidate and extort victims, or throw them in jail, represented a significant escalation.—
Jesse Hyde,
Rolling Stone,
21 Oct. 2025
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While attempting a new hairstyle can feel a bit intimidating, Taylor encourages experimentation and reminds us that curls come in various shapes, patterns, and sizes.—
Essence,
Essence,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As with the films, the inspiration is Stephen King’s 1986 novel IT, about a group of kids terrorized by IT, an evil entity that transcends generations and manifests itself in the form of Pennywise.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
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On the night of June 2, 2023, Lorincz called the police, claiming that the neighborhood kids were trespassing and terrorizing her.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Usually when a pet is terrified of kennel life, a shelter moves quickly to find a loving foster to provide comfort, which is what happened with this little one.—
TJ Macias,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
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Grasso is terrified of being found out as the mole in the task force.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Worse, some say, the shining promise of fusion in the future could sap investment and delay deployment of clean renewable energy sources already available today.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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Gertrude watched her brother alienate his friends, sapped of mental energy, and increasingly cantankerous.—
Via Scribner,
Literary Hub,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Some even licked the candy to soften it -- a trick used by contestants in the show.—
Hakyung Kate Lee,
ABC News,
17 Oct. 2025
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An emphatic 8-4 win has softened the blow a bit — especially with Zach Benson and his four assists back in the lineup — and the Sabres are missing key pieces on defense.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The administration wasted little time in appealing the appeals court’s decision, imploring the Supreme Court to hear the case quickly and deliver a final ruling.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
21 Oct. 2025
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With Toronto facing off against Los Angeles, who are looking for back-to-back World Series titles of their own, fans didn’t waste any time in drawing a parallel back to Drizzy’s 2024 battle against Compton native Kendrick Lamar.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
21 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Psych (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psych%20%28out%29. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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