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Definition of frighten verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

frighten

verb
 
 
/ˈfraɪtn/
 
/ˈfraɪtn/
[transitive, intransitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they frighten
 
/ˈfraɪtn/
 
/ˈfraɪtn/
he / she / it frightens
 
/ˈfraɪtnz/
 
/ˈfraɪtnz/
past simple frightened
 
/ˈfraɪtnd/
 
/ˈfraɪtnd/
past participle frightened
 
/ˈfraɪtnd/
 
/ˈfraɪtnd/
-ing form frightening
 
/ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/
 
/ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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  1. to make somebody suddenly feel afraid
    • frighten (somebody) Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.
    • (informal) He used to frighten me to death (= a lot), zooming about on his go-cart.
    • She's not easily frightened.
    • She doesn't frighten easily (= it is not easy to make her afraid).
    • it frightens somebody to think, see, hear, etc… It really frightens me to think how this might have ended.
    • it frightens somebody that… It frightened him that she could see so easily into his private thoughts.
    Synonyms frightenfrightenscare ▪ alarm ▪ terrifyThese words all mean to make somebody afraid.frighten to make somebody feel afraid, often suddenly:
    • He brought out a gun and frightened them off.
    scare to make somebody feel afraid:
    • They managed to scare the bears away.
    alarm to make somebody anxious or afraid:
    • It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously.
    Alarm is used when somebody has a feeling that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.    terrify to make somebody feel extremely afraid:
    • Flying terrified her.
     frighten or scare?Scare is slightly more informal than frighten.Patterns
    • to frighten/​scare somebody/​something away/​off
    • to frighten/​scare/​terrify somebody into doing something
    • It frightens/​scares/​alarms/​terrifies me that…
    • It frightens/​scares/​alarms/​terrifies me to think, see, etc.
    Extra Examples
    • Don't creep around like that! You frightened the life out of me!
    • The prospect of war really frightens me.
    • Stop it! You're frightening me!
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • really
    • almost
    • easily
    • …
    verb + frighten
    • want to
    • not mean to
    • try to
    • …
    phrases
    • frighten somebody to death
    • frighten the life out of somebody
    See full entry
Idioms
frighten/scare the (living) daylights out of somebody
  1. (informal) to frighten somebody very much
frighten/scare the life out of somebody
  1. (informal) to frighten somebody very much
    • You scared the life out of me coming in so suddenly like that.
frighten/scare somebody to death
  1. (informal) to frighten somebody very much
    • Spiders frighten him to death.
See frighten in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee frighten in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: frighten

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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