— frightenable , adj. — frightener , n. — frighteningly , adv.
/fruyt"n/ , v.t.
1. to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.
2. to drive (usually fol. by away, off, etc.) by scaring: to frighten away pigeons from the roof.
v.i.
3. to become frightened: a timid child who frightens easily.
[ 1660-70; FRIGHT + -EN 1 ]
Syn. 1. shock, startle, dismay, intimidate. FRIGHTEN, ALARM, SCARE, TERRIFY, TERRORIZE, APPALL all mean to arouse fear in people or animals. TO FRIGHTEN is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, esp. 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.