frighten

frighten

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Pronunciation

The IPA phonetic spelling for "frighten" is /ˈfraɪtən/.

• fright-: /fraɪt/ - The sounds are /f/ (voiceless labiodental fricative), /r/ (voiced alveolar approximant), /aɪ/ (diphthong, as in "my"), and /t/ (voiceless alveolar stop).

• -en: /ən/ - The sounds are /ə/ (schwa, a mid-central vowel) and /n/ (voiced alveolar nasal).

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Word Form Variations

• Verb (base form): frighten

• Verb (third-person singular present): frightens

• Verb (present participle): frightening

• Verb (past simple): frightened

• Verb (past participle): frightened

• Adjective (derived from past participle): frightened

• Adjective (derived from present participle): frightening

• Noun (action or state of frightening): fright (note: "frighten" itself is not typically used as a noun, but "fright" is directly related)

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Verb

• Definition 1: To cause someone or something to experience sudden, intense fear or alarm.

• Synonyms: scare, terrify, alarm, startle, shock, intimidate

• Antonyms: comfort, reassure, soothe, calm, encourage

• Definition 2: To make someone feel apprehensive or nervous about a potential outcome or situation.

• Synonyms: worry, unnerve, disquiet, perturb, unsettle

• Antonyms: embolden, reassure, calm, pacify

Adjective (derived from past participle)

• Frightened: Feeling or showing fear; experiencing a sudden sense of alarm.

• Synonyms: scared, terrified, alarmed, startled, afraid, petrified

• Antonyms: brave, courageous, fearless, confident, calm, composed

Adjective (derived from present participle)

• Frightening: Causing fear or alarm; having the quality of making one feel scared.

• Synonyms: scary, terrifying, alarming, disturbing, daunting, intimidating

• Antonyms: comforting, reassuring, soothing, calming, pleasant, delightful

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Examples of Use

• Books:

• "He did not want to frighten her, but the truth was, the forest held dangers beyond their understanding." (From a fantasy novel)

• "The ghost story was meant to entertain, but it did genuinely frighten some of the younger campers." (From a children's book)

• Newspapers:

• "Rising inflation continues to frighten consumers, leading to concerns about economic stability." ( The Wall Street Journal, May 2024)

• "The sudden dip in the stock market momentarily frightened investors, though it quickly recovered." (Financial Times, February 2025)

• Online Publications:

• "Experts warn that the rapid spread of misinformation online can frighten the public and erode trust in legitimate news sources." ( Wired, April 2025)

• "The new cybersecurity regulations aim to protect user data without unduly frightening businesses with excessive compliance burdens." ( TechCrunch, January 2025)

• Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:

• Film: "The creature in the horror film was designed to frighten audiences with jump scares and unsettling imagery." (Referring to a review of a horror movie)

• Television: "In the latest episode, the detectives uncover a conspiracy that could frighten even the most seasoned investigators." (Referring to a crime drama series)

• Video Games: "Players must navigate dark corridors and solve puzzles while avoiding enemies that are designed to frighten them." (Description of a survival horror video game)

• Music (Lyrics): "Don't let the shadows frighten you, my dear, for morning always comes." (From a song lyric)

• General Public Discourse:

• "My dog gets easily frightened by loud noises, especially thunder." (Casual conversation)

• "The thought of speaking in front of such a large crowd used to really frighten me, but I've gotten better at it." (Personal anecdote)

• "We need to address climate change now; the potential consequences are truly frightening." (Public discussion)

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10 Quotes Using Frighten

1. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us." (Marianne Williamson)

2. "I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me." (Duke of Wellington)

3. "The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me." (Blaise Pascal)

4. "You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you." (Eric Hoffer)

5. "We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality." (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)

6. "Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility." (Sigmund Freud)

7. "If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened." (George S. Patton1)

8. "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." (John Cage)

9. "There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me." (Jane Austen)

10. "Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love." (Rainer Maria Rilke)

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Etymology

The word "frighten" has old roots! It comes from Old English, which is the earliest form of the English language spoken from about the 5th to the 11th centuries.

Specifically, "frighten" comes from the Old English word "fyrhtan". This word already meant "to terrify" or "to fill with fear." It's also related to the Old English noun "fyrhtu," meaning "fear, dread, or a horrible sight."

So, you can see that the core idea of causing fear has been present in the word's family for a very long time. The "-en" part at the end of "frighten" is a common English suffix that turns a noun or adjective into a verb, meaning "to make" or "to cause to be." In this case, it essentially means "to make fright."

While the roots are ancient, the verb "frighten" as we know it, with the "-en" suffix, is generally recorded to have appeared in English in the mid-1600s. Its first known use in this form meant "to strike with fear" or "to terrify." Before that, the verb form was often simply "fright."

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Frighten

• Frighten the life out of someone: To scare someone very badly.

• Frighten the wits out of someone: Similar to the above, meaning to deeply terrify someone.

• Frighten off: To scare something or someone away.

• Frighten into: To compel someone to do something through fear.

• Frighten the horses: To do something shocking or unconventional, potentially upsetting conservative people. (This one is less about literal horses and more about causing a stir.)

• Scared stiff: Extremely frightened, unable to move. (Using a synonym, "scared," for a similar effect.)

• Terrified to death: Extremely scared. (Using a synonym, "terrified," for a similar effect.)

• Strike fear into (someone's heart): To make someone suddenly feel very afraid. (Similar effect, though not using "frighten" directly.)

• Give someone a fright: To cause someone to feel a sudden moment of fear.

• Put the frighteners on someone: To intimidate or threaten someone to make them comply.

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of frighten from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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