The Wordsmith Dictionary

scare mon ger |ˈske (ə )rˌməNGgər, -ˌmäNGgər ˈskɛ (ə )rˌməŋɡər | ▶noun a person who spreads frightening or ominous reports or rumors. DERIVATIVES scare mon ger ing noun & adjective

scare quotes

scare quotes ▶plural noun quotation marks used around a word or phrase when they are not required, thereby eliciting attention or doubts: putting the term “global warming ” in scare quotes serves to subtly cast doubt on the reality of such a phenomenon.

scare tactics

scare tac tics ▶plural noun a strategy intended to influence public reaction by the exploitation of fear.

Oxford Dictionary

scare

scare |skɛː | ▶verb [ with obj. ] cause great fear or nervousness in; frighten: the rapid questions were designed to scare her into blurting out the truth. • [ with obj. and adverbial ] drive or keep (someone ) away by frightening them: the ugly scenes scared the holiday crowds away. • [ no obj. ] become scared: I don't think I scare easily. ▶noun a sudden attack of fright: gosh, that gave me a scare! • [ usu. with modifier ] a general feeling of anxiety or alarm about something: bombs and bomb scares disrupted shopping. PHRASAL VERBS scare something up informal, chiefly N. Amer. manage to find or obtain something: for a price, the box office can usually scare up a pair of tickets. DERIVATIVES scarer noun ORIGIN Middle English: from Old Norse skirra ‘frighten ’, from skjarr ‘timid ’.

scarecrow

scare |crow |ˈskɛːkrəʊ | ▶noun an object made to resemble a human figure, set up to scare birds away from a field where crops are growing. • informal a person who is very badly dressed, odd-looking, or thin. • archaic an object of baseless fear.

scared

scared |skɛːd | ▶adjective fearful; frightened: she's scared stiff of her dad | [ with clause ] : I was scared I was going to kill myself | [ with infinitive ] : he's scared to come to you and ask for help.

scaredy-cat

scaredy-cat |ˈskɛːdɪkat | ▶noun informal a timid person.

scaremonger

scare |mon ¦ger |ˈskɛːmʌŋgə | ▶noun a person who spreads frightening or ominous reports or rumours. DERIVATIVES scaremongering noun & adjective

scare quotes

scare quotes ▶plural noun quotation marks placed round a word or phrase to draw attention to an unusual or arguably inaccurate use.

scare tactics

scare tac |tics ▶plural noun a strategy intended to influence public reaction by the exploitation of fear.

American Oxford Thesaurus

scare

scare verb stop it, you're scaring me: frighten, startle, alarm, terrify, petrify, intimidate, terrorize, make afraid, make fearful, fill with fear, give someone a fright, panic, throw into a panic, shock, unnerve, cow; strike terror into, put the fear of God into, chill to the bone /marrow, make someone's blood run cold, scare /frighten to death, scare /frighten someone out of their wits, send into a cold sweat, scare /frighten the living daylights out of, scare /frighten the life out of, scare the hell out of, scare stiff, scare witless, make someone shake in their boots /shoes; informal scare the pants off, make someone's hair stand on end, make someone jump out of their skin, make someone's hair curl, spook, scarify, scare the bejesus out of, scare the bejabbers out of, give someone the heebie-jeebies; vulgar slang scare shitless, scare the shit out of. ANTONYMS reassure. ▶noun you gave me a scare —how did you get here? fright, shock, start, turn, jump; informal heart attack.

scared

scared adjective I've never been so scared in all my life: frightened, afraid, fearful, startled, nervous, panicky, alarmed, intimidated; terrified, petrified, terrorized, horrified, unnerved, panic-stricken /-struck, terror-stricken /-struck, horror-stricken /-struck, with one's heart in one's mouth, scared stiff, scared /frightened out of one's wits, scared witless, scared /frightened to death, chilled to the bone /marrow, in a cold sweat; informal spooked, scarified; vulgar slang scared shitless.

scaremonger

scaremonger noun the scaremongers want us to believe there is no safe produce in the grocery store: alarmist, prophet of doom, Cassandra, voice of doom, doom-monger; informal Chicken Little, doom-and-gloom merchant, merchant of doom and gloom, paranoia peddler, end-of-the-worlder.

Oxford Thesaurus

scare

scare verb the thought of what might happen scared her: frighten, make afraid, make fearful, make nervous, panic, throw into a panic; terrify, petrify, scare /frighten to death, scare /frighten someone out of their wits, scare stiff, scare witless, scare /frighten the living daylights out of, scare /frighten the life out of, scare the hell out of, strike terror into, fill with fear, put the fear of God into, make someone jump (out of their skin ), make someone's hair stand on end, give someone goose pimples, make someone's blood run cold, chill someone's blood, send into a cold sweat, make someone shake in their shoes; startle, alarm, give someone a fright, give someone a turn; shock, appal, horrify; intimidate, daunt, unnerve; informal give someone the heebie-jeebies, scare the pants off, scarify, make someone's hair curl; Brit. informal throw into a blue funk, put the wind up; Irish informal scare the bejesus out of; N. Amer. informal spook; vulgar slang scare shitless, scare the shit out of; archaic fright, affright. ANTONYMS reassure. ▶noun you gave me a scare —how did you get here? fright, shock, start, turn, jump; informal the heebie-jeebies. CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD scare, frighten, startle See frighten . These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

scared

scared adjective it was growing dark and she began to feel scared: frightened, afraid, fearful, nervous, panicky, agitated, alarmed, worried, intimidated; terrified, petrified, horrified, panic-stricken, scared stiff, frightened /scared out of one's wits, scared witless, frightened /scared to death, terror-stricken, terror-struck, horror-stricken, horror-struck, frantic, hysterical, beside oneself; with one's heart in one's mouth, shaking in one's shoes, shaking like a leaf, shaky; Scottish feart; informal in a cold sweat, in a (blue ) funk, jumpy, jittery; Brit. informal funky, windy; N. Amer. informal spooked; vulgar slang scared shitless, shit scared, shitting bricks, bricking oneself; dialect frit; archaic afeared, affrighted. ANTONYMS confident, laid-back, calm.

scaremonger

scaremonger noun alarmist, prophet of doom, Cassandra, voice of doom, doom-monger; pessimist; informal doom and gloom merchant.

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

scare

scare /skeə r /〖語源は「臆病（おくびよう）な (timid )」〗動詞～s /-z /; ～d /-d /; scaring /ské ə rɪŋ / (!be ～dなど分詞形容詞用法については →scared ) 他動詞 1 〈人物事が〉〈人動物〉を怖がらせる , おびえさせる , ぎょっと [はっと ]させる (｟ややかたく｠frighten )▸ You scared me .びっくりするじゃないか ▸ He had to wear a gun and it scared him .彼は拳銃（けんじゆう）を携帯せねばならず, とてもおびえていた .2 〖～ A into doing 〗〈人が〉A 〈人〉を怖がらせて … させる ▸ The salesman scared her into signing her name to the contract .そのセールスマンは彼女をおどして契約書にサインさせた .3 a. 〈人などが〉 (おびえさせて )〈人動物〉を立ちのかせる , 離れさせる (off, away )▸ She scared the thief away by screaming .彼女は金切り声を出してその泥棒を追い払った .b. 〈事などが〉 (不本意にも )〈人〉を引き離す , 敬遠させる (off, away )▸ Civil wars scare off tourists .内戦は旅行客の足を遠のかせる .自動詞〈人動物が〉おびえる , 怖がる ▸ I scare easily .おれは怖がりなんだ .sc à re A ú p [ú p A ]｟米くだけて｠〈人が〉 (かきあつめて )〈物〉を作る, 用意する ▸ I scared up something for unexpected guests to eat .不意のお客のために何かしらの食べ物を都合した .名詞 C 1 〖単数形で〗(突然の )恐怖 ▸ give me a real scare 私を本当に怖がらせる .2 (多くの人々が抱く )不安 , 恐れ ▸ Our departure has been moved back a week due to a bomb scare .出発は爆弾予告による不安から1週間延ばされた ▸ a scare about dioxin's health effects ダイオキシンが健康へ与える影響についての不安 .～́ st ò ry (事態を実際より深刻に描き )人を不安にする話 .～́ t à ctics おびえさせて説得する方法 .

scarecrow

sc á re cr ò w 名詞 C 1 かかし .2 こけおどし .3 ぼろぼろの服を着た人, 見すぼらしい人 ; やせた人 .

scared

scared /skeə r d /→scare 形容詞 more ～; most ～1 〖be ～〗〈人が〉 «…が » 怖い «of » (→afraid 1 ); 〖be ～ to do 〗怖くて …できない ▸ I'm scared of heights .私は高い所はだめだ ▸ I'm scared to sleep in the woods all by myself .森の中で1人で眠るなんて怖くてできない .2 〖be ～〗〈人が〉 «…ではないかと /…することを » 心配する , びくびくする (｟ややかたく｠frightened ) «that 節 /of do ing » ▸ I'm scared of dying .≒I'm scared that I might die .私は死ぬんじゃないかと心配です .3 〖名詞の前で〗おびえた〈人々子供など〉.

scaredy cat

sc á red y c à t /skéə r di- /名詞 C ｟話｠臆病（おくびよう）者 (!主として子供が用いる ) .

scarehead

sc á re h è ad 名詞 C (新聞の )特大見出し .

scaremonger

sc á re m ò nger 名詞 C (デマなどで )世間を騒がす人 .