scare

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /skɛə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /skɛɚ/
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /skɪə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English sker, skere (“terror, fright”), from the verb Middle English skerren (“to frighten”) (see below).

Noun

scare (plural scares)

1. A minor fright.

   Johnny had a bad scare last night.

   • 2011 June 4, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 2 Switzerland”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     England were held to a draw after surviving a major scare against Switzerland as they were forced to come from two goals behind to earn a point in the Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.

2. A cause of slight terror; something that inspires fear or dread.

   a food-poisoning scare

3. A device or object used to frighten.
   • 1948, Alec H. Chisholm, Bird Wonders of Australia, page 153:

     But I admit the possibility of their being used as "scares" for either birds of prey or snakes, or both.

Synonyms

• fright

Derived terms

• jump-scare
• jump scare
• lavender scare
• red scare
• scarebug
• scare campaign
• scare chord
• scarehead
• scareless
• scareline
• scare line
• scare quote
• scare tactic
• scary

 

Translations

minor fright

• Azerbaijani: qorxu (az)
• Bulgarian: уплаха (bg) f (uplaha)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 驚嚇／惊吓 (zh) (jīngxià), 吃驚／吃惊 (zh) (chījīng), 驚懼／惊惧 (zh) (jīngjù)

• Danish: forskrækkelse c
• Finnish: säikähdys (fi)
• French: peur (fr) f
• Galician: susto m
• German: Schreck (de) m
• Greek: φοβίζω (el) (fovízo)
• Irish: scanradh m
• Italian: timore (it)
• Japanese: 怯え (obie), 恐怖 (ja) (kyōfu)
• Portuguese: susto (pt)
• Russian: испу́г (ru) m (ispúg), страх (ru) m (strax), па́ника (ru) f (pánika)
• Spanish: susto (es) m
• Swahili: ukalili (sw)

something that inspires fear

• Bulgarian: плашило (bg) n (plašilo)
• Finnish: pelätti, kauhu (fi)
• Italian: spavento (it), paura (it)
• Japanese: 恐怖 (ja) (kyōfu), 脅威 (ja) (kyōi)
• Russian: пу́гало (ru) n (púgalo), жу́пел (ru) m (žúpel)
• Swahili: ukalili (sw)

See also

• scarecrow

Etymology 2

From Middle English scaren, skaren, scarren, skeren, skerren, from Old Norse skirra (“to frighten; to shrink away from, shun; to prevent, avert”), from Proto-Germanic *skirzijaną (“to shoo, scare off”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to swing, jump, move”). Related to Old Norse skjarr (“timid, shy, afraid of”). Cognate with Scots skar (“wild, timid, shy”), dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk skjerra, dialectal Swedish skjarra and possibly Old Armenian ցիռ (cʻiṙ, “wild ass”).

Verb

scare (third-person singular simple present scares, present participle scaring, simple past and past participle scared)

1. To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.

   Did it scare you when I said "Boo!"?

   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], lines 6-7:

     That cannot be; the noise of thy crossbow / Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost.

   • 1995, The Langoliers:

     (Laurel Stevenson) Would you please be quiet? You're scaring the little girl.
     (Craig Toomey) Scaring the little girl?! Scaring the little girl?! Lady!

Synonyms

• frighten
• terrify
• See also Thesaurus:frighten

Derived terms

• bird-scarer
• Red scare
• scare away
• scare-babe
• scare-beggar
• scarecrow
• scared
• scaredy-cat
• scaremonger
• scare off
• scare out of one's wits
• scarer
• scare-sleep
• scare someone out of their mind
• scare someone out of their wits
• scare someone to death
• scare story
• scare straight
• scare the bejeebers out of
• scare-the-birds
• scare the daylights out of
• scare the hell out of
• scare the horses
• scare the life out of
• scare the living daylights out of
• scare the pants off
• scare the pants off of
• scare the shit out of
• scare up

 

Translations

to frighten

• Albanian:

  Arbëresh: llavënj

• Arabic: أَفْزَعَ (ʔafzaʕa)
• Armenian: վախեցնել (hy) (vaxecʻnel)
• Aromanian: aspar, spar
• Azerbaijani: qorxutmaq (az), qorxuzmaq
• Belarusian: пало́хаць impf (palóxacʹ)
• Bulgarian: плаша (bg) (plaša)
• Burmese: ခြောက် (my) (hkrauk)
• Catalan: espantar (ca), espaventar (ca)
• Central Sierra Miwok: šeký-ŋe
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嚇唬／吓唬 (zh) (xiàhu), 使害怕 (shǐ hàipà)

• Czech: polekat (cs), postrašit, vyděsit (cs), vylekat (cs)
• Danish: skræmme (da)
• Dutch: bang maken, beangstigen (nl), angst aanjagen, laten schrikken, doen schrikken, verschrikken (nl)
• Esperanto: timigi
• Finnish: pelästyttää (fi), säikäyttää (fi)
• French: effrayer (fr)
• Galician: espantar (gl), atemorizar (gl), asustar (gl)
• German: erschrecken (de), beängstigen (de), ängstigen (de)
• Gothic: 𐍉𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (ōgjan)
• Greek: τρομάζω (el) (tromázo), φοβίζω (el) (fovízo)

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

• Hindi: डराना (hi) (ḍarānā)
• Ingrian: pölässyttää, aroittaa
• Irish: cuir eagla ar, scanraigh
• Italian: spaventare (it), impaurire (it), spaurire (it)
• Japanese: 威かす (おどかす, odokasu) (to terrify), 驚かす (ja) (おどろかす, odorokasu) (to surprise)
• Korean: 놀래키다 (nollaekida)
• Ladino: espantar
• Latin: terreō, timeor
• Latvian: baidīt, biedēt (lv), biedināt
• Old English: grēosan
• Polish: straszyć (pl) impf
• Portuguese: assustar (pt)
• Romanian: speria (ro), înspăimânta (ro)
• Russian: пуга́ть (ru) impf (pugátʹ), испуга́ть (ru) pf (ispugátʹ), напуга́ть (ru) pf (napugátʹ), страши́ть (ru) impf (strašítʹ), устраша́ть (ru) impf (ustrašátʹ)
• Sicilian: scantari (scn)
• Slovene: prestrašiti (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: tšachaś

• Spanish: asustar (es), atemorizar (es), espantar (es)
• Swahili: ukalili (sw)
• Swedish: skrämma (sv)
• Turkish: korkutmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: ляка́ти impf (ljakáty), наляка́ти pf (naljakáty), зляка́ти pf (zljakáty)
• Welsh: dychryn (cy)

Etymology 3

Adjective

scare (comparative more scare, superlative most scare)

1. lean; scanty

Anagrams

• CERAs, Cares, Ceras, Cesar, Crase, Creas, Races, SERCA, acers, acres, cares, carse, caser, ceras, crase, e-cars, races, sacre, serac, sérac

French

Etymology

From Latin scarus (also genus name Scarus), from Ancient Greek σκάρος (skáros).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skaʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

scare m (plural scares)

1. parrotfish

Further reading

• “scare”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• âcres, caser, César, crase, créas, races, sacre, sacré