frightened; frightening
ˈfrī-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈfrīt-niŋ
1
: to make afraid : terrify
The movie scene frightened the child.
2
: to drive or force by frightening
frightened the boy into confessing
: to become frightened
She doesn't frighten easily.
Examples of frighten in a Sentence
The story really frightened me.
The child was badly frightened by the mask.
Recent Examples on the Web
An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said.
—
Charna Flam, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
—Zameena Mejia, Refinery29, 8 Apr. 2025
The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
For the most part, yes, although children ages 8 and younger might be frightened by some of the action sequences.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
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Charna Flam, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.
—Zameena Mejia, Refinery29, 8 Apr. 2025
The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull.
—John Nemec, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
For the most part, yes, although children ages 8 and younger might be frightened by some of the action sequences.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
Cite this Entry
“Frighten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frighten. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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