Frighten
'fraɪtn
verbBeginner📊CommonEmotion
1 meaning3 questions
Definitions
1
To cause someone to feel fear or alarm.
'fraɪtn
verbnegativeBeginner
Emotion
To cause someone to feel fear.
The sudden thunder frightened the children.
💡 Simply: To make someone scared. Imagine a sudden loud bang! That would frighten you, right?
👶 For kids: To make someone scared, like when a monster jumps out!
More Examples
2
The dark forest always frightened me as a child.
3
The news of the accident frightened everyone.
How It's Used
General
"The loud noise frightened the cat."
Literature
"The shadowy figure in the alley frightened her."
From Middle English frightenen, from Old English *fyrhtan ('to frighten'), from Proto-Germanic *fuṛhtijaną ('to frighten'), from *fuṛhts ('fearful').
The word 'frighten' has been used since the 16th century.
Memory tip
Think of something that gives you a fright! Something that fills you with fear.
Word Origin
LanguageOld English
Original meaning
"to terrify, alarm"
Base: fright
easily frightenedfrighten awayfrighten someone
Common misspellings
frigtenfrightning
Practice
Usage
60%Spoken
40%Written