scared S3 /skeəd $ skerd/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ scared , ↑ scary ; verb : ↑ scare ; noun : ↑ scare ]
frightened of something, or nervous about something SYN afraid :
At first, he was really scared.
scared of (doing) something
I’ve always been scared of dogs.
Don’t be scared of asking for help.
scared (that)
I wanted to ask her out, but was scared that she might refuse.
scared to do something
The boys were scared to cross the street.
scared stiff/scared to death/scared out of your wits (=extremely frightened)
I was scared stiff at the thought of making a speech.
REGISTER
Scared is slightly informal. In written English, people usually prefer to use afraid or frightened :
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Many generations have been afraid of nuclear power.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ very/really scared
By this time I was feeling really scared.
▪ quite scared
Some of the children were quite scared.
▪ a bit/little scared
I was always a little scared of my father.
■ verbs
▪ feel scared
She was beginning to feel a bit scared.
▪ look scared
What’s the matter? You look scared.
▪ get scared (=start to feel scared)
It was now completely dark and I was getting scared.
■ phrases
▪ scared to death (=extremely scared)
He looked scared to death.
▪ scared stiff informal (=extremely scared)
I was scared stiff of going down those cellar steps.
▪ scared witless/out of your wits informal (=extremely scared)
She admitted she was scared witless.
▪ be running scared (=feel scared, especially because someone might catch you or defeat you)
The opposition were running scared.
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THESAURUS
▪ frightened feeling worried because you might get hurt or because something bad might happen:
I was too frightened to say anything.
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Many animals are frightened of fireworks.
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Frightened residents called the police as the gang started throwing bricks.
▪ scared [not before noun] especially spoken frightened. Scared is less formal than frightened and is the usual word to use in everyday English:
I’m scared of dogs.
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Old people are too scared to go out of their homes.
▪ afraid [not before noun] frightened. Afraid sounds more formal than frightened or scared :
Children are often afraid of the dark.
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I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing.
▪ alarmed frightened and worried that something bad might happen:
She was alarmed at the thought of performing in front of an audience.
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Alarmed passengers spotted fuel leaking from the plane.
▪ fearful formal frightened that something bad might happen:
They are fearful of another terrorist attack.
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He was fearful that he might make another mistake.
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a fearful panic