Related Words
See afraid.
Other Word Forms
- frightenedly adverb
- unfrightened adjective
- well-frightened adjective
Etymology
Origin of frightened
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The policewoman frightened him so much with warnings of severe legal consequences that he avoided telling his daughters or bank managers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Official L.A., anxious to mollify angry and frightened Angelenos, dropped the hammer on a plant near downtown L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
But a week on, while some people are still celebrating every strike on the regime, others are increasingly frightened, questioning the motives and endgame of the war.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
"They have this experience and, haven't been able to share with their relatives simply because they're too frightened and they themselves think to themselves "is this dementia?" and that's the hard thing about this condition."
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
And still the frightened, homeless people kept coming, and with them tales of a mounting madness.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
