- frightened of something or afraid that something bad might happen
- The thieves got scared and ran away.
- He looked scared and hid behind Jesse.
- scared of doing something She is scared of going out alone.
- scared of somebody/something He's scared of heights.
- scared to do something People are scared to use the buses late at night.
- Some victims are too scared to speak out.
- scared (that)… I’m scared (that) I’m going to fall.
- scared at something He was scared at the prospect of running out of food.
- scared at doing something Anne was scared at seeing her father crying.
- scared for something We were scared for our lives (= thought we would die).
- a scared look
- I was scared to death (= very frightened).
- We were scared stiff (= very frightened).
- He's scared out of his mind (= very frightened).
Synonyms afraidafraidfrightened ▪ scared ▪ terrified ▪ alarmed ▪ paranoidThese words all describe feeling or showing fear.afraid [not before noun] feeling fear; worried that something bad might happen:see also shit-scared- There’s nothing to be afraid of.
- Aren’t you afraid (that) you’ll fall?
- a frightened child
- She was frightened that the glass would break.
- The thieves got scared and ran away.
- I was terrified (that) she wouldn’t come.
- They looked into the cave with wide, terrified eyes.
- He was alarmed at the prospect of travelling alone.
- You’re just being paranoid.
- afraid/frightened/scared of spiders, etc.
- frightened/scared/paranoid about …
- afraid/frightened/scared/terrified that …
- afraid/frightened/scared to open the door, etc.
- Don’t be afraid/frightened/scared/alarmed.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsa2- He wasn't sick, Sophie decided. He was just plain scared.
- I'm feeling a little scared at the thought of the operation.
- It's only a little injection. It's nothing to be scared about.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- be running
- feel
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- about
- at
- of
- …
- scared out of your wits
- scared stiff
- scared to death
- …
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Idioms
See scared in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe frightened/nervous/scared of your own shadow
- to be very easily frightened; to be very nervousTopics Feelingsc2
be frightened/scared/terrified out of your wits
(also to frighten/scare the wits out of somebody)
- to be very frightened; to frighten somebody very much
- I was scared out of my wits!
- The latest news has scared the wits out of investors.
be scared/bored witless
- (informal) to be extremely frightened or boredTopics Feelingsc2
Check pronunciation:
scared