frighten
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++fright·en /ˈfraɪtn/ ●●● S3 W3 verb [transitive] 1 FRIGHTENEDto make someone feel afraid 使害怕，使惊吓 SYN scare Don’t stand so near the edge! You’re frightening me. 别站得那么靠边！你要把我吓坏了。 She was frightened by the anger in his eyes. 她被他眼中的怒火吓住了。 Computers used to frighten me, but not now. 电脑过去让我感到害怕，但现在不了。frighten somebody to death/frighten the life out of somebody (=make someone feel extremely afraid) 把某人吓得要死 He drove at a speed which frightened Lara to death. 他开车的速度把拉拉吓得要死。2 frighten somebody ↔ away phrasal verb LEAVE A PLACEto make a person or animal go away by making them feel afraid 吓走 Terrorist activity in the area has frightened most tourists away. 该地区的恐怖活动已经把大多数游客都吓走了。3 frighten somebody into something phrasal verb FORCE somebody TO DO somethingto force someone to do something by making them afraid 把某人吓得做某事frighten somebody into doing something He frightened me into staying silent. 他吓唬我要我保持沉默。4 frighten somebody/something ↔ off phrasal verb LEAVE A PLACEto make a person or animal so nervous or afraid that they go away or do not do something they were going to do 吓走，吓跑 The investors were frightened off by the company’s low profits that year. 投资者被该公司当年的低利润吓跑了。n THESAURUSfrighten to make someone feel afraidThe thought of being in court frightened him.scare especially spoken to frighten someone. Scare is less formal than frighten, and is the usual word to use in everyday EnglishHe was driving fast just to scare us.It scared him to think that his mother might never recover.terrify to make someone feel extremely frightenedThe idea of going down into the caves terrified her.Robbers terrified bank staff by threatening them at gunpoint.give somebody a fright to make someone suddenly feel frightened in a way that makes their heart beat more quicklyIt gave me a terrible fright when I found him unconscious on the floor.give somebody the creeps if a person or place gives you the creeps, they make you feel slightly frightened because they are strangeThis house gives me the creeps.startle to frighten someone. Used when you suddenly see someone and did not know they were there, or when you suddenly hear somethingI’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.The noise startled him, and he dropped his glass on the floor.alarm to make someone feel frightened and worried that something bad might happenI didn’t want to alarm her by calling in the middle of the night.intimidate to deliberately frighten someone, especially so that they will do what you wantMany of the gangs were using dogs to intimidate people.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
frighten• He was broke and he was frightened.• Many couples have been frightened by questionable results.• The driver was frightened by the shots.• Film-makers have always known that one way to capture an audience is to frighten it out of its wits.• It frightens me to know that the rapist still hasn't been caught.• I wasn't frightened of it.• Now he could imagine children being frightened of it.• The man pulled out a gun and managed to frighten off his attackers.• Take that silly mask off -- you're frightening the children.• Melissa spun round to see Eddie standing behind her. "You frightened the daylights out me!" she gasped. "I never heard you come in."• Travis, you just frighten the dog when you play that music.• What are you doing creeping up on me like that? You frightened the life out of me!• I think she was frightened to be too strict.• Their lawyers tried to frighten us into signing the contract.• Does the thought of death frighten you?fright·en verb →n THESAURUS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
afraid to someone make Corpus feel
frighten
fright‧en /ˈfraɪtn/
verb [transitive]
SYN scare:
Don’t stand so near the edge! You’re frightening me.
She was frightened by the anger in his eyes.
Computers used to frighten me, but not now.
frighten somebody to death/frighten the life out of somebody (=make someone feel extremely afraid)
He drove at a speed which frightened Lara to death.
▪ frighten to make someone feel afraid: The thought of being in court frightened him.
▪scare especially spoken to frighten someone. Scare is less formal than frighten, and is the usual word to use in everyday English: He was driving fast just to scare us. | It scared him to think that his mother might never recover.
▪terrify to make someone feel extremely frightened: The idea of going down into the caves terrified her. | Robbers terrified bank staff by threatening them at gunpoint.
▪give somebody a fright to make someone suddenly feel frightened in a way that makes their heart beat more quickly: It gave me a terrible fright when I found him unconscious on the floor.
▪give somebody the creeps if a person or place gives you the creeps, they make you feel slightly frightened because they are strange: This house gives me the creeps.
▪startle to frighten someone. Used when you suddenly see someone and did not know they were there, or when you suddenly hear something: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. | The noise startled him, and he dropped his glass on the floor.
▪alarm to make someone feel frightened and worried that something bad might happen: I didn’t want to alarm her by calling in the middle of the night.
▪intimidate to deliberately frighten someone, especially so that they will do what you want: Many of the gangs were using dogs to intimidate people.
frighten somebody ↔ away phrasal verb
to make a person or animal go away by making them feel afraid:
Terrorist activity in the area has frightened most tourists away.
frighten somebody into something phrasal verb
to force someone to do something by making them afraid
frighten somebody into doing something
He frightened me into staying silent.
frighten somebody/something ↔ off phrasal verb
to make a person or animal so nervous or afraid that they go away or do not do something they were going to do:
The investors were frightened off by the company’s low profits that year.
fright‧en /ˈfraɪtn/
verb [transitive] Word Family: adjective: frightened, frightening, frightful; noun: fright, frighteners; adverb: frighteningly, frightfully; verb: frighten
to make someone feel afraid SYN scare:
frighten somebody to death/frighten the life out of somebody (=make someone feel extremely afraid)
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frighten somebody ↔ away phrasal verb
to make a person or animal go away by making them feel afraid:
frighten somebody into something phrasal verb
to force someone to do something by making them afraid
frighten somebody into doing something
frighten somebody/something ↔ off phrasal verb
to make a person or animal so nervous or afraid that they go away or do not do something they were going to do:
frighten to make sb feel afraid, often suddenly 指（常突如其来地）使惊吓、使惊恐 ：◆ He brought out a gun and frightened them off. 他掏出一把枪，把他们吓跑了。 scare to make sb feel afraid 指使害怕、使恐惧 ：◆ They managed to scare the bears away. 他们设法把那些熊吓跑了。 alarm to make sb anxious or afraid 指使惊恐、使害怕、使担心 ：◆ It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously. 谁都不认真对待这个问题，我非常担心。 NOTE Alarm is used when sb has a feeling that sth unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.* alarm 指令人担心不好的事情或危险可能发生，多为忧虑而非真的害怕。 terrify to make sb feel extremely afraid 指使恐惧、使十分害怕、使惊吓 ：◆ Flying terrified her. 她害怕坐飞机。
frighten or scare? 用 frighten 还是 scare？
Scare is slightly more informal thanfrighten .* scare 较 frighten 稍非正式。
Patterns
to frighten/scare sb/sth away/off to frighten/scare/terrify sb into doing sthIt frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies methat… It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies meto think, see, etc.
frighten to make sb feel afraid, often suddenly 指（常突如其来地）使惊吓、使惊恐 ：◆ He brought out a gun and frightened them off. 他掏出一把枪，把他们吓跑了。 scare to make sb feel afraid 指使害怕、使恐惧 ：◆ They managed to scare the bears away. 他们设法把那些熊吓跑了。 alarm to make sb anxious or afraid 指使惊恐、使害怕、使担心 ：◆ It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously. 谁都不认真对待这个问题，我非常担心。 NOTE Alarm is used when sb has a feeling that sth unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.* alarm 指令人担心不好的事情或危险可能发生，多为忧虑而非真的害怕。 terrify to make sb feel extremely afraid 指使恐惧、使十分害怕、使惊吓 ：◆ Flying terrified her. 她害怕坐飞机。
frighten or scare? 用 frighten 还是 scare？
Scare is slightly more informal thanfrighten .* scare 较 frighten 稍非正式。
Patterns
to frighten/scare sb/sth away/off to frighten/scare/terrify sb into doing sthIt frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies methat… It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies meto think, see, etc.
frighten to make sb feel afraid, often suddenly 指（常突如其来地）使惊吓、使惊恐 ：◆ He brought out a gun and frightened them off. 他掏出一把枪，把他们吓跑了。 scare to make sb feel afraid 指使害怕、使恐惧 ：◆ They managed to scare the bears away. 他们设法把那些熊吓跑了。 alarm to make sb anxious or afraid 指使惊恐、使害怕、使担心 ：◆ It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously. 谁都不认真对待这个问题，我非常担心。 NOTE Alarm is used when sb has a feeling that sth unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.* alarm 指令人担心不好的事情或危险可能发生，多为忧虑而非真的害怕。 terrify to make sb feel extremely afraid 指使恐惧、使十分害怕、使惊吓 ：◆ Flying terrified her. 她害怕坐飞机。
frighten or scare? 用 frighten 还是 scare？
Scare is slightly more informal thanfrighten .* scare 较 frighten 稍非正式。
Patterns
to frighten/scare sb/sth away/off to frighten/scare/terrify sb into doing sthIt frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies methat… It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies meto think, see, etc.