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

scare

verb
 
 
/skeə(r)/
 
/sker/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they scare
 
/skeə(r)/
 
/sker/
he / she / it scares
 
/skeəz/
 
/skerz/
past simple scared
 
/skeəd/
 
/skerd/
past participle scared
 
/skeəd/
 
/skerd/
-ing form scaring
 
/ˈskeərɪŋ/
 
/ˈskerɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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  1.  
    [transitive] to frighten somebody
    • scare somebody You scared me.
    • it scares somebody to do something It scared me to think I was alone in the building.
    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
    • The very thought of flying scares me stiff.
    • You don't scare me with your threats!
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • really
    • easily
    • away
    • …
    verb + scare
    • try to
    • want to
    • start to
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    • with
    phrases
    • scare somebody silly
    • scare somebody stiff
    • scare somebody to death
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
    [intransitive] to become frightened
    • He doesn't scare easily.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • really
    • easily
    • away
    • …
    verb + scare
    • try to
    • want to
    • start to
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    • with
    phrases
    • scare somebody silly
    • scare somebody stiff
    • scare somebody to death
    • …
    See full entry
    3. see also scary
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse skirra ‘frighten’, from skjarr ‘timid’.
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.
scare the shit out of somebody | scare somebody shitless
  1. (taboo, slang) to frighten somebody very much
See scare in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: scare

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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