as in afraid
filled with fear or dread
at the sight of the grizzly bear he froze, being too scared to even run away
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scared
Ryan Brennan
april 21, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
The answer is, because there’s real things to be scared about and be cautious of.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Sarah Hoover, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Three Grammy wins, a Men’s Health cover and 275 pounds later, the blood draw that scared him most turned out to be the decision that saved his life.
—Allison Palmer, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Adjective
Witnesses describe the dogs as frightened and wary rather than dangerous — a pair of scared animals looking for food, not a fight.
—Ryan Brennan
april 21, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
The answer is, because there’s real things to be scared about and be cautious of.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
The realization simultaneously scared and steadied me.
—Sarah Hoover, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Three Grammy wins, a Men’s Health cover and 275 pounds later, the blood draw that scared him most turned out to be the decision that saved his life.
—Allison Palmer, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scared
Adjective
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Umpires, afraid of being overturned, or at least, more aware of the new zone and its limitations, have been calling fewer strikes.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Almost half are personally afraid of losing their job to AI, ranking it among the most acute individual stressors measured in the survey.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Lee Cronin was both flattered and frightened when Jason Blum suggested titling his The Mummy reimagining as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2026
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When to see a doctor Ashamalla stressed that people shouldn’t be frightened by every ache or pain.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The key cabin crew are flight attendants Penny (Lucy Barrett) and Zoe (Na Shi), both of whom demonstrate bravery, to different ends, and show caring attention to the terrified children.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
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Though Ridley Scott works in a drastically different tone than the one John Carpenter brought to Dark Star, the two films share screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s darkly comedic view of a future that has reduced humans to alternately bored and terrified cogs in larger machines.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The gunfire startled sleeping guests at the Citizen Hotel, which included a wedding party and fans of the rapper Tyler the Creator, who performed at a concert hours earlier.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
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Littrell walked up to the man, who appeared to be startled by the singer's presence.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Let’s not confuse slightly horrified admiration for Irina’s determination with admiration for her as a person.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
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As the scene was projected onto a screen, Jude seemed slightly horrified to see himself in front of the camera rather than behind it.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The pair shared a sweet slideshow on Instagram in December 2023 that showed Wilson getting down on one knee in front of a Christmas tree to ask a shocked van der Pol to marry him.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
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His death has left many shocked and outraged.—
Naveen Dhaliwal,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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My agent, Marty Diamond, had to face down a steady stream of ‘no’s from fearful artist reps.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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The question of whether Balzac’s fear was real is perhaps less interesting than the work the story does to position the fearful encounter as simply a symptom of innovation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scared. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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