frighten
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
frighten
- /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/
- [ˈfɹ̥aɪtn̩]
- [ˈfɹ̥aɪʔn̩]
Rhymes with -aɪtən
Where it comes from
From Middle English *frightenen, equivalent to fright + -en.
verb frightens · frightening · frightened · freighten
- To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright. Avery puts a sheet over her head, pretending to be a ghost to frighten Emily.
- To become scared or alarmed. In fitting the White Leghorns for exhibition, it must be remembered that they are of nervous disposition and frighten easily.
Similar: alarm, affright, appall, dismay, fray, frighten, grill, give someone the shits, harrow, horrify, make someone's blood run cold, mortify, petrify, scare, scare straight, scare the bejeebers out of, scare the hell out of, scare the pants off of, scare the shit out of, terrorize, terrify, spook
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: scare, affright, fright, terrorise, fear, terrorize, terrify, intimidate, afraid, startle, bully, deter, alarm, spook, petrify, panic
verb
Similar: alarm, affright, appall, dismay, fray, frighten, grill, give someone the shits, harrow, horrify, make someone's blood run cold, mortify, petrify, scare, scare straight, scare the bejeebers out of, scare the hell out of, scare the pants off of, scare the shit out of, terrorize, terrify, spook
Translations
Every language
verb to disturb with fear
| Español | atemorizar, amedrentar, asustar, amedrantar, aspaventar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 겁먹게 만들다 geommeokge mandeulda |
| 日本語 | 怖がらせる kowagaraseru |
| 中文 | 嚇唬 /吓唬 xiàhu, 嚇 /吓 xià |
| Kiswahili | -ogofya, -ogofisha |
| Português | intimidar, amedrontar, ameaçar |
| Français | effrayer, redouter, terrifier |
| Deutsch | Angst machen, erschrecken, schrecken, beängstigen, ängstigen |
| Italiano | spaurire, spaventare |
| Ελληνικά | τρομάζω tromázo |
| Română | speria, înspăimânta |
| Русский | пуга́ть pugátʹ, испуга́ть ispugátʹ, напуга́ть napugátʹ, страши́ть strašítʹ, устраши́ть ustrašítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | làm hoảng sợ |
| العربية | خَشَّى ḵaššā, أَفْزَعَ ʔafzaʕa |
Talk about this word "frighten." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/frighten. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. frighten. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/frighten "frighten." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/frighten.Cite this
@misc{frighten_2026,
title = {frighten},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/frighten},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
