frighten

English

Alternative forms

• freighten (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English fryghten, equivalent to fright +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/, [ˈfɹ̥aɪtn̩], [ˈfɹ̥aɪʔn̩]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪtən
• Hyphenation: frigh‧ten

Verb

frighten (third-person singular simple present frightens, present participle frightening, simple past and past participle frightened)

1. (transitive) To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright.

   Avery puts a sheet over her head, pretending to be a ghost to frighten Emily.

   • 1746, Isaac Kimber, “Henry VII”, in The History of England, from the Earliest Accounts to the Accession of His Present Majesty King George II. […] , page 217:

     His Deſign was only to frighten France, and get more Money.

   • 1883, Felix Leopold Oswald, “A Step-child of Nature”, in Zoological Sketches[:] A Contribution to the Out-door Study of Natural History, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., page 90:

     You may frighten a pig, a goose, a frog, and even a fly, but you cannot frighten or surprise a sloth.

   • 1928, E. A. Wallis Budge, transl., The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church[:] A translation of the Ethiopic Synaxarium […] , volume 1, London: Cambridge University Press, page 220:

     And he commanded his soldiers […] to frighten them with fierce swords, but the hearts of the holy men did not quail, and they were unable to alter their words.

2. (intransitive) To become scared or alarmed.
   • 1898, Franklane L. Sewell, Ida E. Tilson, “White Leghorns”, in The Poultry Herald Manual[:] A Guide to Successful Poultry Keeping, St. Paul, Minnesota: Webb Publishing Company, page 41:

     In fitting the White Leghorns for exhibition, it must be remembered that they are of nervous disposition and frighten easily.

   • 1959, Harold G. (Hack) Miller, “Rod and gun”, in Hearings […] , Washington: United States Government Printing Office, page 101:

     Those male moose at the southeast arm didn't frighten very much when we docked to fly-fish one day. One was so scared of us he just walked toward us and snorted.

   • 1995 April, Jeff Csatari, “Tackle Tips”, in Boys' Life, volume 85, number 4, Irving, Texas: Boy Scouts of America, Inc., →ISSN, page 42:

     Be sneaky. Fish frighten easily.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frighten

Derived terms

• do someone a frighten
• frightening
• frighten the horses
• frighten the life out of someone
• frighten the piss out of

 

Related terms

• fright

Translations

to disturb with fear

• Arabic: خَشَّى (ḵaššā), أَفْزَعَ (ʔafzaʕa)

  Moroccan Arabic: خلع (ḵleʕ)

• Armenian: վախեցնել (hy) (vaxecʻnel)
• Asturian: apavoriar (ast), apavorar (ast), amedrentar, atemoriar
• Azerbaijani: qorxutmaq (az), qorxuzmaq, qorxuya salmaq
• Belarusian: пало́хаць impf (palóxacʹ), спало́хаць pf (spalóxacʹ), страшы́ць impf (strašýcʹ), застрашы́ць pf (zastrašýcʹ)
• Bulgarian: пла́ша (bg) impf (pláša), изпла́швам (bg) impf (izplášvam), изпла́ша pf (izpláša)
• Burmese: ခြောက် (my) (hkrauk)
• Catalan: espantar (ca), espaventar (ca), esporuguir (ca), esgarrifar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嚇唬／吓唬 (zh) (xiàhu), 嚇／吓 (zh) (xià)

• Czech: vystrašit pf
• Danish: skræmme (da)
• Dutch: bang (nl) maken (nl), beangstigen (nl)
• Esperanto: timigi
• Finnish: pelottaa (fi), säikähdyttää, säikyttää (fi)
• French: effrayer (fr), redouter (fr), terrifier (fr)
• Friulian: spaurî
• Galician: espantar (gl), atemorizar (gl)
• Georgian: შეშინება (šešineba)
• German: Angst machen, erschrecken (de), schrecken (de), beängstigen (de), ängstigen (de)
• Gothic: 𐍉𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (ōgjan)
• Greek: τρομάζω (el) (tromázo)

  Ancient: ἐκφοβέω (ekphobéō), φοβέω (phobéō), φοβερίζω (phoberízō), πτήσσω (ptḗssō)

• Ingrian: pölässyttää, aroittaa
• Irish: cuir eagla ar, scanraigh
• Italian: spaurire (it), spaventare (it)
• Japanese: 怖がらせる (こわがらせる, kowagaraseru)
• Korean: 겁먹게 만들다 (geommeokge mandeulda)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: tirsandin (ku)

• Latin: terreō
• Latvian: baidīt, biedēt (lv), biedināt
• Macedonian: плаши impf (plaši), заплаши pf (zaplaši), исплаши pf (isplaši)
• Malay: menakutkan
• Nahuatl: tetzauhqui
• Old English: grēosan
• Oromo: sodaachiisuu
• Pashto: وېرول (werawël)
• Persian: ترساندن (fa) (tarsândan)
• Polabian: aizosĕt
• Polish: straszyć (pl) impf, przestraszyć (pl) pf, nastraszyć pf
• Portuguese: intimidar (pt), amedrontar (pt), ameaçar (pt)
• Romanian: speria (ro), înspăimânta (ro)
• Russian: пуга́ть (ru) impf (pugátʹ), испуга́ть (ru) pf (ispugátʹ), напуга́ть (ru) pf (napugátʹ), страши́ть (ru) impf (strašítʹ), устраши́ть (ru) pf (ustrašítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: стра̏шити impf, прѐстрашити pf, за̀страшити pf

  Roman: strȁšiti (sh) impf, prèstrašiti (sh) pf, zàstrašiti (sh) pf

• Slovak: vystrašiť pf
• Slovene: strašiti impf, prestrašiti (sl) pf
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: tšachaś impf

• Spanish: atemorizar (es), amedrentar (es), asustar (es), amedrantar (es), aspaventar (es)
• Swahili: -ogofya (sw), -ogofisha
• Swedish: skrämma (sv)
• Telugu: భయపడు (te) (bhayapaḍu)
• Turkish: korkutmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: ляка́ти impf (ljakáty), зляка́ти pf (zljakáty), страха́ти impf (straxáty), страши́ти impf (strašýty), застраши́ти pf (zastrašýty)
• Vietnamese: làm hoảng sợ
• Walloon: sbarer (wa), fé sogne (wa)
• Welsh: dychryn (cy)
• Zazaki: tersanen

Anagrams

• fringeth

Middle English

Alternative forms

• friȝten, fyrten

Etymology

From Old English fyrhtan; equivalent to fright +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfrixtən/, [ˈfriçtən]

Verb

frighten

1. To frighten, scare

Conjugation

Conjugation of frighten (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) frighten, frighte
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	frighte	frighted
2nd-person singular	frightest	frightedest
3rd-person singular	frighteth	frighted
subjunctive singular	frighte
imperative singular		—
plural1	frighten, frighte	frighteden, frightede
imperative plural	frighteth, frighte	—
participles	frightynge, frightende	frighted, yfrighted

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: (to) fright (archaic)

References

• “frighten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.