as in frightens
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
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Recent Examples of scares
The lobby is where the elderly owner scares children with tales of a witch who once haunted these grounds.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2026
And quite frankly, that scares me.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Skenes scares a perfect game The Pirates’ ace retired the first 20 batters against the Brewers and, at 89 pitches with seven outs to go, carried a credible chance to throw Major League Baseball’s second perfect game since 2012.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Amid the positives, what scares you the most right now about the industry?
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
That distinction, between desensitization and normalization, is crucial to how Goldhaber and Mazzei approach scares in the digital age.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2026
After a first quarter marked by stop-and-start activity for IPOs, talk has turned to the implications of the raging conflict and the lingering effect of artificial intelligence scares.
—Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg, 31 Mar. 2026
The idea of frightening children into basic courtesy scares Miss Manners.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
Geopolitical scares that faded and allowed oil prices to recede.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2026
And quite frankly, that scares me.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
Skenes scares a perfect game The Pirates’ ace retired the first 20 batters against the Brewers and, at 89 pitches with seven outs to go, carried a credible chance to throw Major League Baseball’s second perfect game since 2012.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Amid the positives, what scares you the most right now about the industry?
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
That distinction, between desensitization and normalization, is crucial to how Goldhaber and Mazzei approach scares in the digital age.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2026
After a first quarter marked by stop-and-start activity for IPOs, talk has turned to the implications of the raging conflict and the lingering effect of artificial intelligence scares.
—Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg, 31 Mar. 2026
The idea of frightening children into basic courtesy scares Miss Manners.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
Geopolitical scares that faded and allowed oil prices to recede.
—Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scares
Verb
-
The piercing sunlight frightens her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Like the 1987 Kurt Vonnegut novel from which the restaurant took its name, Bluebeard encourages guests to drop their guard, surround themselves with other people and try something that frightens them a little.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Frankly, the thought of being beaten by the subscribers terrifies me.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Aubry Bracco is the kind of player who terrifies a certain (male) demographic of Survivor alumni.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
If hypotheticals about what could have been are a good dream for New York Knicks fans, then Mikal Bridges is the alarm clock that startles them awake.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The project, which Steinberger has rebranded multiple times—evolving from Clawdbot to Moltbot and finally to OpenClaw—largely owing to politics—has expanded at a pace that startles even seasoned AI experts.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scares. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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