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
Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
Put her face to the wall, making scared and miserable noises.
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
The hikers scared the lion away by throwing rocks and then attended to the adult woman, the release said.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the intensive care unit, and the hospital staffers — from Latin America, Somalia, Myanmar and elsewhere — too scared to come to work.
—Tim Sullivan, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2026
Put her face to the wall, making scared and miserable noises.
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
Bureaucrats have stunted the development of stock markets, and their distrust of private enterprise has scared off investors and venture capitalists.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
The hikers scared the lion away by throwing rocks and then attended to the adult woman, the release said.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
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Hundreds of volunteers have packed and delivered grocery boxes to families too afraid to leave their homes.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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People are so afraid to go out and participate in public life regardless of their citizenship status.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And my father—lovable but imposing, a strapping six feet three inches tall with a thick, bristly mustache and a rumbling Sergeant Schultz accent that frightened my friends half to death—loved to tell stories.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Dec. 2025
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Fortune had reported in its investigation that people within the agency were frightened of examining Boring Company after two staffers who worked on the case had been disciplined.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
20 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Barry’s little sister, who answered the call, was terrified.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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But there’s plenty of agonized screaming, as well as lots of closeups of terrified faces.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The exchange startled Loftus, who this month shared the correspondence with the Orlando Sentinel.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
-
YouTube’s growth as a competitor to traditional television has startled the industry in recent years.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But some Germans are not thrilled by this American adoption of lüften, posting their own horrified reaction videos to TikTok.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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In witness footage shared by the police, the paraglider is seen falling from the sky with a faulty parachute and spiraling quickly towards the waters below, before smashing into the ocean in front of horrified beachgoers.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday, and folks around the NFL are shocked.—
Amos Morale III,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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According to Rob Shuter, the whole family is shocked.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Alberto Carvalho said promoting outside play is especially important for children after the city was roiled by immigration raids and many fearful parents kept families indoors.—
Christopher Buchanan,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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This is an inevitable consequence of both political parties, fearful of their extremes, punting for years on an immigration policy that secured the borders and offered a path forward for those who have been here for years and likely now reside in families of mixed citizenship status.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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