Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to frighten

to frighten

540 1.0
To make someone feel afraid
  • verb
  • /ˈfraɪtən/
translation icon : asustar
  • The loud noise from the fireworks might frighten small children.
  • frighten children
  • frighten away
  • become frightened

Like the greatest visions frighten the status quo.

Autoplay Next

Examples

Synonyms

to scare
vsto frighten
∞ 1.0

To make someone feel afraid or unsure of themselves

is the same general action but stated in a slightly different form
to intimidate
vsto frighten
294 4.9

To frighten someone so they do what you want

creates fear without the specific aim of forcing compliance
to terrify
vsto frighten
148 3.2

To make someone feel very frightened

is the same act but with milder, not extreme, fear
to terrorize
vsto frighten
  • NSFW
145 6.7

To frighten someone very much by using threats or violence

means causing fear generally without implying threats or violence
to horrify
vsto frighten
90 4.3

Make someone feel very shocked, afraid, or disgusted

focuses only on fear and not on shock or disgust
to scare someone to death
vsto frighten
  • Informal
59 3.7

To frighten someone very much

causes fear too but usually less severe and sudden
to scare the hell out of
vsto frighten
  • Informal
56 6.7

To make someone very afraid

expresses the same fear but without coarse or slangy tone
to scare the bejesus out of
vsto frighten
  • Informal
5 8.8

To make someone very afraid

means causing fear but in a more neutral or standard tone
to scare the bejesus
vsto frighten
  • Informal
5 9.0

To frighten someone very much by a sudden event or loud noise

is the same act but normally expressed without emphatic slang
to scare the pants off
vsto frighten
  • Informal
3 8.2

To frighten someone very much

is the plain expression of causing fear without playful tone
to put the fear of God into
vsto frighten
  • Informal
3 8.2

Make people very afraid and make them respect you by showing power

causes fear but without the added sense of authority or warning
to scare the living daylights out of
vsto frighten
  • Informal
3 6.9

To frighten someone very much

describes fear generally without the extreme informal emphasis
to scare the life out of
vsto frighten
  • Informal
3 5.6

To make someone very afraid

produces fear as well but without the sudden shocking element
to fright
vsto frighten
2 3.2

To make someone feel afraid

is the standard verbal form used to describe causing fear
to affright
vsto frighten
  • Archaic
9.9

To cause sudden fear in someone

is the modern, commonly used way to express causing fear

Antonyms

to calm
962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

to soothe
63 3.4

To make someone feel calmer or reduce their pain

Phrasal Verbs

to frighten off
1 3.3

To make someone or something go away by making them afraid

to frighten away
1 2.8

To make people or animals go away by scaring them

to do someone a frighten
  • Irish
9.9

To suddenly scare someone and make them jump

How Scary

to petrify
7 4.8
to terrify
148 3.2
to frighten
540 1.0
to alarm
133 1.9
to startle
131 3.7

Surface Forms

frighten infinitive
frightened past
frightened past participle
frightening present participle
frightens third person singular

Morphology

frighten = fright (transparent) = fright + en

The verb is a regular derivation from the noun 'fright' with '-en' meaning 'to make afraid', which is directly predictable.

Etymology

The word frighten comes from the old English word fright, which meant 'fear' or 'terror', and the ending -en means 'make', like in darken. So, to frighten someone is to 'make' them feel fear, which is exactly how we use the word today.