frightened - frighten

frightened - frighten
If something frightens you, it makes you feel afraid.

Rats and mice don't frighten me.

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Frighten is almost always used as a transitive verb. You never say that someone `frightens'. If you want to say that someone is afraid because of something that has happened or that might happen, you say that they are frightened.

I was even more determined not to show I was frightened.

He told the audience not to be frightened.

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For more information about frightened, see entry at ↑ afraid - frightened.
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◊ 'frightening'
Do not confuse frightened with frightening. Something that is frightening causes you to feel fear.

...the most frightening sight he had ever seen.

It is frightening to think what damage could be done.

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Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • frighten — frighten, fright, scare, alarm, terrify, terrorize, startle, affray, affright mean to strike or to fill with fear or dread. Frighten is perhaps the most frequent in use; it is the most inclusive, for it may range in implicaton from a momentary… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • frighten — [frīt′ n] vt. 1. to cause to feel fright; make suddenly afraid; scare; terrify 2. to force (away, out, or off) or bring ( into a specified condition) by making afraid [to frighten someone into confessing] vi. to become suddenly afraid… …   English World dictionary

  • frighten away/off — [phrasal verb] frighten (someone or something) away/off : to cause (someone or something) to go away or stay away because of fear The dog frightened the prowler away. Tourists have been frightened off by the violence in the city. • • • Main Entry …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten somebody away — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten something away — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten somebody off — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten something off — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten somebody away from something — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten something away from something — ˌfrighten sb/sthaˈway/ˈoff | ˌfrighten sb/sth aˈway from sth derived 1. to make a person or an animal go away by making them feel afraid • He threatened the intruders with a gun and frightened them off. 2. to make sb afraid or nervous so that… …   Useful english dictionary

  • frighten into — [phrasal verb] frighten (someone) into (doing something) : to cause (someone) to do (something) because of fear The insurance agent tried to frighten her into buying the most expensive flood insurance. They frightened the boy …   Useful english dictionary

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