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Glite Dictionary
to scare the life out of

to scare the life out of

3 5.6
To make someone very afraid
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : asustar de muerte
  • Arthur, for pity's sake, you scared the life out of me.

Examples

Synonyms

to scare
vsto scare the life out of
∞ 1.0

To make someone feel afraid or unsure of themselves

is a more extreme and sudden form causing severe shock
to frighten
vsto scare the life out of
540 1.0

To make someone feel afraid

is more intense and sudden, aiming for a severe shock
to terrify
vsto scare the life out of
148 3.2

To make someone feel very frightened

adds a stronger sense of sudden shock or startle to that fear
to startle
vsto scare the life out of
131 3.7

To make someone react suddenly because they feel surprised or afraid

creates a longer more intense fear rather than a quick jolt
to spook
vsto scare the life out of
97 4.8

To suddenly frighten a person or animal so they panic

is similar but often adds a stronger, lasting shock effect
to horrify
vsto scare the life out of
90 4.3

Make someone feel very shocked, afraid, or disgusted

focuses more narrowly on pure frightening shock rather than disgust
to scare someone to death
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
59 3.7

To frighten someone very much

is similar but focuses more on strong fright than literal danger
to scare the hell out of
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
56 6.7

To make someone very afraid

is the same extreme fear but with different casual wording
to stun
vsto scare the life out of
11 3.0

To surprise someone so much they cannot react for a short time

shares shock but focuses more on causing strong ongoing fear
to petrify
vsto scare the life out of
7 4.8

To make someone so frightened that they cannot move or think

is similar but emphasises shock and a sudden physical reaction
to scare the bejesus out of
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
5 8.8

To make someone very afraid

is the same idea expressed with a slightly different informal tone
to scare the bejesus
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
5 9.0

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

expresses the same severe fear but with shorter idiomatic phrasing
to scare the pants off
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
3 8.2

To frighten someone very much

is the equivalent extreme fear with another informal expression
to put the fear of God into
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
3 8.2

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

is more about sudden shocking fright rather than taught respect
to scare the living daylights out of
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
3 6.9

To frighten someone very much

matches that extreme reaction but is phrased in a different idiom
to shock the hell out of someone
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
2 8.1

To surprise someone suddenly and very strongly

leans more toward fear and physical startle than pure surprise
to fright
vsto scare the life out of
2 3.2

To make someone feel afraid

is stronger and more dramatic causing severe fear and shock
to send shivers down someone's spine
vsto scare the life out of
  • Informal
1 6.0

Cause someone to feel a sudden strong fear or excitement

is more direct in causing sudden, intense fright rather than thrill
to knock the living daylights out of
vsto scare the life out of
  • Offensive
9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

in this sense focuses only on causing intense fear not physical harm
to do someone a frighten
vsto scare the life out of
  • Irish
9.9

To suddenly scare someone and make them jump

is far more intense and serious, causing severe shock rather than a joke

Antonyms

to reassure
163 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Scary

to petrify
7 4.8
to scare the life out of
  • Informal
3 5.6
to frighten
540 1.0
to startle
131 3.7

Surface Forms

scare the life out of infinitive
scared the life out of past
scared the life out of past participle
scaring the life out of present participle
scares the life out of third person singular

Morphology

scare + the + life + out + of

The components 'scare' and 'life' give a clear image—a metaphorical removal of vitality—that signals extreme fear, so a learner might infer a strong fright from the parts. However the phrase's meaning is a conventionalized metaphor (not a literal removal of life) and the exact idiomatic force is not fully predictable from the words alone, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

The idiom scare the life out of comes from a strong image: being so frightened that your life seems to go out of you. That's why it now means 'to frighten someone very much'.