scare Hear it!

scare Definition

scare (sker)

transitive verb scared, scar·ing

to fill with fear or terror; esp., to frighten suddenly or startle; terrify

Etymology: ME skerren < ON skirra, to scare, make timid < skjarr, timid, prob. < IE base *(s)ker-, to jump > L scurra, buffoon

intransitive verb

to become frightened, esp. suddenly a person who scares easily

noun

  1. a sudden fear or panic; attack of fright, often unreasonable
  2. a state of widespread fear or panic a war scare

Etymology: ME skerre < the v.

scare Idioms

scare away

or scare off

to drive away or off by frightening

scare up

Informal to produce or gather quickly

scare Synonyms

scare

n.

scare Synonyms

scare

v.

panic, terrify, alarm; see frighten 1. See syn. study at frighten.

scare Usage Examples

Object

  • bejesus: Psyched up and raring to go after the 4 minute cannon ( which scared the bejesus out of me having never heard it before!
  • pant: The Kaled soldiers scared the pants off me at the time.
  • hell: Regardless of actual party politics, it is the creeping erosion of norms which scares the hell out of me.
  • outta: I'm not that far in FEAR yet, scares the **** outta me!
  • heck: Some say I play the puck well, but others say that I scare the heck out of them when I leave the crease.

Converse of object

  • survive: Soon afterward Tranmere survived the first major scare in their own goal-mouth.

Adjective modifier

  • Red: The paranoia over Bolshevism, the " Red Scare " of 1919, engendered an atmosphere of mistrust and intolerance in American society.

Adjective complement

  • witless: It was Railtrack which had been scared witless by the threat.
  • stiff: But now there were a few seconds before they left for the church and Sarah was scared stiff.

Noun used with modifier

  • anthrax: Recent anthrax scares in the US have shown the dangers of covert chemical warfare.
  • bomb: Bomb scares in the Dublin area meant the earlier tour went to Sligo, the only route available pending the all clear.
  • airship: It is actually easier to trace the development of the UFO mythos to the British airship scare of 1912-13.
  • saucer: The first case listed was that of Kenneth Arnold, a Boise businessman, who had set off the saucer scare.
  • invasion: The major national invasion scare occurred on the night of September 7th 1940.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • off: They are urging Rover workers to take no further action in case it scares off a possible buyer.

Preposition: of

  • spider: In other words, more people are scared of spiders than are scared of death itself.

Modifies a noun

  • mongering: Despite all the scare mongering about rent, they need to acquire more space.
  • tactic: Whatever his motive, Blair used scare tactics to push Parliament into Iraq.
  • story: The next day, the media were full of scare stories about ' gas attacks ' on the Tube.

Browse dictionary entries near scare

  1. scarcity
  2. scarcement
  3. scarcely
  4. scarce
  5. Scarborough
  6. Scaramouch
  7. scarabaeid
  8. scarab
  9. scar tissue
  10. scar
  1. scare off or away
  2. scare up
  3. scarecrow
  4. scared
  5. scaredy-cat
  6. scarehead
  7. scaremonger
  8. scarf
  9. scarfskin
  10. scarification