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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scared
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Krystin Wieland was too scared to stay in her own Lexington, Missouri, home Thursday night.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 26 Sep. 2025
Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
The group, which features members all wearing terrifying masks — something that delighted millions of fans at the turn of the millennium and scared plenty of others — is back on the Billboard charts, not with new music, but with the full-length that started it all.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
Dougal may be the muscle of the MacKenzies, but the way Colum makes that threat, even Dougal is scared.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Krystin Wieland was too scared to stay in her own Lexington, Missouri, home Thursday night.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
Immigration raids have hurt major growing areas, leaving crops unharvested at California farms and scared off workers at dairy farms in New York and other states.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
The group, which features members all wearing terrifying masks — something that delighted millions of fans at the turn of the millennium and scared plenty of others — is back on the Billboard charts, not with new music, but with the full-length that started it all.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
-
Taylor Swift knows what excellence requires and is not afraid to demand it.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Don’t be afraid to use your gut instinct.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
There are liberals in media, but the corporations are now either controlled by the right wing or frightened of it.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Family pets, especially dogs, are frightened by the noise and will hide or try to run away.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Kim Kardashian was left terrified after learning someone put out a hit on her life.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
With every temptation, Jesus is lured into a forbidden world, and a terrified Joseph soon realizes that a demonic power is at work.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
First baseman Michael Toglia covered his head, too, and was startled when the ball landed a few feet from him.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Sleep may be disturbed by a pet's movements, and dogs may bite if startled.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
He is then seen collapsing on the dance floor in front of horrified guests.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The Prime Video series ends with a horrified Daniel looking at Cherry, who's shown smiling at him with her hands calmly resting on very pregnant belly.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Their shocked reaction doesn’t stop Hersh’s mother.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Goodall, whose own site was relatively protected, was shocked.—
Michelle Nijhuis,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
While mountain lions are highly adaptable to various ecosystems, their numbers declined historically due to being hunted by fearful humans.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Several days pass; the nights alone in the wilderness are especially fearful.—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This is nothing to be alarmed over.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
3 Oct. 2025
-
China, in particular, has in recent years alarmed Washington with its rapid progress in chip and AI technologies, prompting the blacklisting of Huawei in 2019 and hundreds of others in subsequent years.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share