as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
at the sight of the grizzly bear he froze, being too scared to even run away
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scared
Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2026
First responders discovered the stowaway, who, while a little scared, was healthy.
—Barry Pintar, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
No one gets sick or scared or spun around or soaking wet or brought on stage.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
Like, just scared and constantly on edge.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2026
First responders discovered the stowaway, who, while a little scared, was healthy.
—Barry Pintar, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Verb
Outside Idlib, most Syrians have never seen or met a Uyghur fighter before, and the conservative Sunni Muslim beliefs held by many Uyghurs in Syria have scared Syria's minority communities.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 17 May 2026
No one gets sick or scared or spun around or soaking wet or brought on stage.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
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Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Meanwhile, aggressive immigration enforcement has made some people afraid to seek care at all, worsening public health outcomes.—
Daniela Flores,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The victim accelerated to escape, but the suspect continued to follow her, which frightened her.—
Peter D'Oench,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
-
The Lord in your convent frightened me, Jesus with his bloody palms and gaping mouth, eyes rolled back in terror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
In the mid-2000s, people across America watched a man in a trench coat hand a chat-log transcript to a terrified suspect holding a six-pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.—
Toni Fitzgerald,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
Three men in Hawaii were killed within 48 hours, leaving devastated families in mourning and a terrified community on edge as police hunt for the suspect.—
Amanda Musa,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The blast in Indonesia's restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom on Sunday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
-
The scale of what is emerging in China’s northwestern desert has left even seasoned analysts startled.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
As a horrified Sam inadvertently observes, a creature has been sating itself on his buddy’s brain.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
-
As his tricks progressed, the Young Man felt horrified and confused at the same time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
People are often shocked to hear that Nixon froze the rent as part of his 1971 price controls.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
2 June 2026
-
Back in north London, there was an initial shocked silence from the 35,000 watching the shootout at the Emirates Stadium, which was immediately followed by applause for their ‘King of Brazil’.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Carpenter says the disturbing encounters left her fearful for her safety and that of relatives living with her, as police label the suspect’s fixation irrational and increasingly dangerous.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
-
At the time, the diagnosis was much more taboo, discussed only with hushed, fearful voices.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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