scare
Synonyms:
(verb) affright, alarm (also alarum), fright, frighten, horrify, intimidate, panic, scarify, shock, spook, startle, terrify, terrorize.
(noun) alarm (also alarum), anxiety, dread, fear, fearfulness, fright, horror, panic, terror, trepidation.
Related Words:
alert, awe, chill, daunt, dismay, freeze, paralyze, petrify, start.
Antonym:
reassure.
Synonym Study (Dictionary.com):
Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, and appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals.
To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, especially that arising from the apprehension of physical harm:
to frighten someone by a sudden noise.
To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger:
to alarm someone by a scream.
To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger:
Horror movies really scare me.
To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear:
to terrify a city by lawless acts.
To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control:
His marauding armies terrorized the countryside.
To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror:
The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.
Origin:
First recorded in 1150–1200; (verb) Middle English skerren. from Old Norse skirra “to frighten”, derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb. British dictionary: C12: from Old Norse skirra; related to Norwegian skjerra, Swedish dialect skjarra. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of scare: Verb: 13th century. Noun: circa 1548. History and Etymology for scare: Verb: Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid. —Merriam-Webster.
Source: 1, 2.
(verb) affright, alarm (also alarum), fright, frighten, horrify, intimidate, panic, scarify, shock, spook, startle, terrify, terrorize.
(noun) alarm (also alarum), anxiety, dread, fear, fearfulness, fright, horror, panic, terror, trepidation.
Related Words:
alert, awe, chill, daunt, dismay, freeze, paralyze, petrify, start.
Antonym:
reassure.
Synonym Study (Dictionary.com):
Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, and appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals.
To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, especially that arising from the apprehension of physical harm:
to frighten someone by a sudden noise.
To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger:
to alarm someone by a scream.
To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger:
Horror movies really scare me.
To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear:
to terrify a city by lawless acts.
To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control:
His marauding armies terrorized the countryside.
To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror:
The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.
Origin:
First recorded in 1150–1200; (verb) Middle English skerren. from Old Norse skirra “to frighten”, derivative of skjarr “timid, shy”; (noun) late Middle English skere, derivative of the verb. British dictionary: C12: from Old Norse skirra; related to Norwegian skjerra, Swedish dialect skjarra. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of scare: Verb: 13th century. Noun: circa 1548. History and Etymology for scare: Verb: Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid. —Merriam-Webster.
Source: 1, 2.