v. & n.
v. 1 tr. frighten, esp. suddenly (his expression scared us). 2 tr. (as scared adj.) (usu. foll. by of, or to + infin.) frightened; terrified (scared of his own shadow). 3 tr. (usu. foll. by away, off, up, etc.) drive away by frightening. 4 intr. become scared (they don't scare easily).
n. 1 a sudden attack of fright (gave me a scare). 2 a general, esp. baseless, fear of war, invasion, epidemic, etc. (a measles scare). 3 a financial panic causing share-selling etc. scaredy-cat colloq. a timid person. scare-heading (or -head) a shockingly sensational newspaper headline. scare up (or out) esp. US 1 frighten (game etc.) out of cover. 2 colloq. manage to find; discover (see if we can scare up a meal). scarer n.
[ ME skerre f. ON skirra frighten f. skjarr timid ]