fright[noun]Synonyms: fear, alarm, consternation, dread, horror, panic, scare, shock, trepidation
English Thesaurus: fear, terror, fright, panic, alarm, ... [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
fright /fraɪt/
noun [
Word Family: adjective:
frightened,
frightening,
frightful;
noun:
fright,
frighteners;
adverb:
frighteningly,
frightfully;
verb:
frighten]
[
Language: Old English;
Origin: fyrhto]
1. [singular, uncountable] a sudden feeling of fear:
You gave me such a fright creeping up on me like that!get/have a fright I got an awful fright when I realised how much money I owed.with fright He was shaking with fright.in fright Several of the children cried out in fright.2. take fright to be very afraid of something, especially so that you run away from it or do not do something that you were going to do:
The bird took fright and flew away. She had promised to marry him, but took fright at the last moment.3. look a fright old-fashioned to look untidy or unattractive
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stage fright [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲
fear a feeling of being frightened:
He was trembling with fear. Fear of failure should not stop you trying.terror a feeling of great fear, because you think that something terrible is about to happen:
She let out a scream of pure terror.fright a sudden feeling of fear, or a situation that makes you feel this:
My body was shaking with fright. You gave me a fright! He’s had a bit of fright, that’s all.panic a sudden feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly:
She was in such a panic that she hardly knew what she was doing! There were scenes of sheer panic immediately following the bomb blast.alarm a feeling of fear or worry which shows in your voice or behaviour, because you think something bad might happen:
When I mentioned her name, he looked up at me in alarm. The streets were calm and there was no sign of alarm.foreboding /fɔːˈbəʊdɪŋ $ fɔːrˈboʊ-/ a feeling that something bad or unpleasant might happen although there is no obvious reason why it should:
She felt the same sense of foreboding she had before her father died.phobia /ˈfəʊbiə $ ˈfoʊ-/ a permanent strong unreasonable fear of something:
I had a phobia about going to the dentist.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.intimidate to deliberately frighten someone, especially so that they will do what you want:
Many of the gangs were using dogs to intimidate people. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲