scare

[ skair ]

verb (used with object)

, scared, scar·ing.

1. to fill, especially suddenly, with fear or terror; frighten; alarm:

   What scares me most about the disease is the residual effects on the lungs and heart.

   The ducks scared my sister by flying right toward her.

   Synonyms: intimidate, startle

verb (used without object)

, scared, scar·ing.

1. to become frightened:

   That horse scares easily.

noun

1. a sudden fright or alarm, especially with little or no reason:

   I recently had a scare when my computer seemed to be malfunctioning, but it turned out to be nothing.

2. a time or condition of alarm or worry:

   During the anthrax scare, people were leery of opening envelopes from addresses they didn't recognize.

verb phrase

1. to frighten or alarm someone or something so much that they go away and stay away:

   Business leaders felt the fuel tax would scare away consumers fearing higher electricity bills and rising gasoline costs.

   The bee's sting isn't necessarily deadly, but it's painful enough to scare off predators.

2. Informal. to obtain with effort; find or gather:

   We want to renovate the kitchen, but first we'll need to scare up some money.

scare

/ skɛə /

verb

1. to fill or be filled with fear or alarm
2. tr; often foll by away or off to drive (away) by frightening
3. informal.
   tr foll by up
   1. to produce (a meal) quickly from whatever is available
   2. to manage to find (something) quickly or with difficulty

      brewers need to scare up more sales

noun

1. a sudden attack of fear or alarm
2. a period of general fear or alarm

adjective

1. causing (needless) fear or alarm

   a scare story

Derived Forms

• ˈscarer, noun

Other Words From

• scar·er noun
• scar·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of scare¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; (for the verb) Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra “to frighten,” derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (for the noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of scare¹

C12: from Old Norse skirra; related to Norwegian skjerra, Swedish dialect skjarra

Idioms and Phrases

• run scared

Synonym Study

See frighten.

Example Sentences

He saw it as a wedge that could scare — and divide — the American left on immigration.

From Salon

He has complained about military recruitment ads that feature diverse service members, arguing that the threat of being exposed to different kinds of people would scare off "guys in Kentucky and Colorado and Ohio."

From Salon

Former heavyweight champion Tyson has not competed professionally in 19 years and pulled out of a summer bout after a health scare while Paul has fought mainly ex-UFC stars in an 11-bout career.

From BBC

In horror movies there are always nameless victims, sacrificed for a scare or two.

From Los Angeles Times

“This will scare people. It is a very effective scare tactic,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alarm
• panic
• shock