frightened

UK: /ˈfraɪt^ənd/ US: (frīt′nd)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

fright•ened  (frīt′nd), adj. 

1. thrown into a fright;
   afraid;
   scared;
   terrified:
   a frightened child cowering in the corner.
2. afraid;
   fearful (usually fol. by of ):
   He has always been frightened of heights.

• frighten + -ed² 1715–25

fright′ened•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 2. See afraid. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

fright•en /ˈfraɪtən/   v. [~ + object]

1. to (cause to) become frightened:
   Your story frightened me.
2. to drive or force to move by scaring: [~ + away/off + object]
   to frighten off the pigeons.
   [~ + object + away/off]
   to frighten the pigeons away.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

fright•en  (frīt′n), v.t. 

1. to make afraid or fearful;
   throw into a fright;
   terrify;
   scare.
2. to drive (usually fol. by away, off, etc.) by scaring:
   to frighten away pigeons from the roof.

v.i. 

3. to become frightened:
   a timid child who frightens easily.

• fright + -en¹ 1660–70

fright′en•a•ble, adj. 
fright′en•er, n. 
fright′en•ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. shock, startle, dismay, intimidate.
  Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals.
  To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, esp. that arising from the apprehension of physical harm:
  to frighten someone by a sudden noise.
  To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger:
  to alarm someone by a scream.
  To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger:
  Horror movies really scare me.
  To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear:
  to terrify a city by lawless acts.
  To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control:
  His marauding armies terrorized the countryside.
  To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror:
  The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

frighten / ˈfraɪt^ən/ verb (transitive)

1. to cause fear in; terrify; scare
2. to drive or force to go (away, off, out, in, etc) by making afraid

ˈfrightening adjective

ˈfrighteningly adverb