scared to death
84
3.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
muerto de miedo
- She was scared to death when she heard the loud crash coming from the basement.
So this is then circling back to WHI where women are scared to death of taking hormone therapy.
- So this is then circling back to WHI where women are scared to death of taking hormone therapy.
- Real courage is being scared to death and going ahead anyway.
- And I was, of course, so scared to death to be doing this role with a bunch of English actors in England.
- Ignorance is bliss sometimes because I'm, I'm, I'm scared to death because maybe I know more than I really want to know.
- They're in the they break in during the act, yes, and and take pictures of him there and he's and he's scared to death.
- You may have been scared to death by your healthcare provider or your dietitian that you should never do low carb or keto.
- And I'm scared to death with my oh, my cell phone rang.
- Serious question though, I'm, I'm, I'm kind of scared to death mate.
- I was playing out like I was still a hard guy, scared to death, little kid.
- I got a buddy that his wife is he works for a company and his wife is is scared to death that.
- We need our ego to protective because you separate the ego death and you're scared to death.
- I guess being scared to death gave me a strength and I didn't know I had and I just snapped her finger.
Examples
-
When I woke up, it was pitch-dark and I felt scared to death.
Fiction book (1993) -
All she knew was that she was suddenly scared to death.
Fiction book (1995) -
Everyone else here is scared to death of you, but not me.
-
"When I was young, I was scared to death of everything, and scared of myself most of all.
Fiction book (2002) -
"What are you doing that for?" he asked her, scared to death.
Fiction book (1991) -
Real courage is being scared to death and going ahead anyway.
-
She looked just scared to death.
-
He just seems scared to death.
-
I looked over my shoulder at Carmel, scared to death.
Fiction book (2002) -
I'm scared to death, that's why.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Feeling fear or worry about something
∞
1.0
Feeling afraid because you think something bad might happen
263
2.1
Feeling very afraid because you think something bad will happen
143
1.3
Feeling afraid or nervous and easily frightened
29
4.6
So frightened that you cannot move or think clearly
19
9.9
Feeling very afraid because you think something bad will happen
3
1.0
Being afraid because something seems dangerous
1
7.2
Feeling very shocked and afraid after seeing something frightening
1
7.7
Suddenly feeling very frightened
Antonyms
How Afraid
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase pairs the transparent lexical meanings 'scared' and 'death' in a recognizably hyperbolic construction so a learner can infer 'very frightened' (i.e., 'so scared one might die'). However, the relation is metaphorical/non-literal and functions as an intensifier rather than a straightforward compositional meaning, so it is not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Scared to death paints a strong picture: someone is so frightened they feel as if they could die. The words to death simply make the fear bigger, so the phrase means 'extremely frightened'.