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Glite Dictionary
to make someone's skin crawl

to make someone's skin crawl

7.4
Cause a strong feeling of fear or disgust with a creepy physical feeling
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ponerle los pelos de punta a alguien
  • The horror movie was so tense that it made my skin crawl.

Examples

  • Even thinking about spiders makes my skin crawl.

  • His icy stare made my skin crawl in that dark hallway.

  • The story she told about the abandoned house really made my skin crawl.

  • The thought of spiders crawling on me always makes my skin crawl.

  • Hearing the strange noise in the dark alley made my skin crawl.

Synonyms

to frighten
vsto make someone's skin crawl
540 1.0

To make someone feel afraid

is broader, also covering disgust and marked physical reactions
to terrify
vsto make someone's skin crawl
148 3.2

To make someone feel very frightened

includes intense fear too but often combines it with disgust or unease
to horrify
vsto make someone's skin crawl
90 4.3

Make someone feel very shocked, afraid, or disgusted

is close but often stresses the physical reaction aspect more
to disgust
vsto make someone's skin crawl
83 2.1

To make someone feel strong dislike and sick because something is offensive

can also include fear and a bodily reaction beyond mere revulsion
to appall
vsto make someone's skin crawl
64 5.5

To make someone feel shocked and very upset by something cruel or wrong

is similar but more focused on bodily discomfort alongside shock
to scare the hell out of
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
56 6.7

To make someone very afraid

is close yet the key tends to add a disgusting or uneasy element
to turn off
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
44 4.4

To make someone feel strong dislike

is stronger, causing physical unease or fear as well as dislike
to sicken
vsto make someone's skin crawl
27 4.3

Make someone feel disgusted or shocked by bad actions

is similar but more likely to also cause physical discomfort or fear
to repulse
vsto make someone's skin crawl
23 6.7

To make someone feel strong dislike or disgust

shares disgust but also often produces fear and a physical response
to give someone chills
vsto make someone's skin crawl
12 5.8

To cause a sudden feeling of fear or strong excitement that makes someone shiver

causes similar intense discomfort often mixing fear or disgust physically
to disconcert
vsto make someone's skin crawl
7 7.1

To make someone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed

is stronger, producing intense fear, disgust, or physical discomfort
to petrify
vsto make someone's skin crawl
7 4.8

To make someone so frightened that they cannot move or think

shares extreme fear but the key also includes disgust and bodily reaction
to turn one's stomach
vsto make someone's skin crawl
6 7.0

To make you feel sick or disgusted

can cause nausea too but also covers fearful physical reactions
to repel
vsto make someone's skin crawl
5 5.1

Cause someone to feel strong dislike or disgust

adds an element of fear and often a visible physical reaction
to scare the bejesus out of
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
5 8.8

To make someone very afraid

adds that reaction but often includes lasting physical disgust or discomfort
to scare the bejesus
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
5 9.0

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

adds strong disgust and lingering physical unease as well as fear
to chill to the bone
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
3 6.3

To make someone feel very cold or deeply frightened

includes that deep physical reaction but often adds disgust as well
to scare the life out of
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
3 5.6

To make someone very afraid

is similar but the key also emphasizes disgust and prolonged discomfort
to send chills down someone's spine
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
1 5.9

Make someone feel a sudden strong fear or excitement

is similar but can also include strong disgust rather than only fear
to send shivers down someone's spine
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
1 6.0

Cause someone to feel a sudden strong fear or excitement

adds the possibility of disgust and deeper unease beyond thrill
to discomfort
vsto make someone's skin crawl
1 4.3

To make someone feel uneasy or anxious

is more intense, causing stronger fear, disgust, or bodily reaction
to churn up
vsto make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
1 7.3

Make people feel strong disgust or moral upset

covers aversion too but also commonly involves fear and bodily reaction
to revulse
vsto make someone's skin crawl
9.3

Make someone feel sudden shock or disgust

is broader, covering fear, disgust, and physical unease alike

Antonyms

to comfort
172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

to reassure
163 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Disturbed

to terrify
148 3.2
to make someone's skin crawl
  • Informal
7.4
to disturb
183 2.1
to unsettle
7 4.9
to bother
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

make someone's skin crawl infinitive
made someone's skin crawl past
made someone's skin crawl past participle
making someone's skin crawl present participle
makes someone's skin crawl third person singular

Morphology

make + someone's + skin + crawl

The structure 'make + someone's + [body part] + verb' is directly causal: knowing 'make' (cause), 'skin' (body covering) and 'crawl' (a repulsive/tingling sensation on the skin) allows a learner to infer that something causes a physical, unpleasant sensation. This bodily-sensation metaphor is common across languages and follows a transparent composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can derive the idiomatic sense of causing intense discomfort or disgust.

Etymology

The idiom make someone's skin crawl may come from the image of bugs or the feeling of something moving on your skin, as if it is crawling there. That's why the phrase means 'to cause strong discomfort or fear'.