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
Seeing those kinds of numbers in headlines may have started to frighten U.S. consumers, data shows.
—
Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 4 Mar. 2025
While full autonomy may frighten many, most drivers do still want automakers to focus on safety tech.
—John Koetsier, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Trying to frighten already scared officials into action, of course, may not be a recipe for success.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Consumers may not know PBMs by name, but the drug-access and cost issues that frustrate and frighten them often stem from PBMs’ decisions.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for frighten
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Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 4 Mar. 2025
While full autonomy may frighten many, most drivers do still want automakers to focus on safety tech.
—John Koetsier, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Trying to frighten already scared officials into action, of course, may not be a recipe for success.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Consumers may not know PBMs by name, but the drug-access and cost issues that frustrate and frighten them often stem from PBMs’ decisions.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 21 Jan. 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 23 Mar. 2025.
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