frighten
English
Alternative forms
- freighten (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English fryghten, equivalent to fright + -en.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/, [ˈfɹ̥aɪtn̩], [ˈfɹ̥aɪʔn̩]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪtən
- Hyphenation: frigh‧ten
Verb
frighten (third-person singular simple present frightens, present participle frightening, simple past and past participle frightened)
- (transitive) To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright.
- Avery puts a sheet over her head, pretending to be a ghost to frighten Emily.
- 1746, Isaac Kimber, “Henry VII”, in The History of England, from the Earliest Accounts to the Accession of His Present Majesty King George II. […] , page 217:
- His Deſign was only to frighten France, and get more Money.
- 1883, Felix Leopold Oswald, “A Step-child of Nature”, in Zoological Sketches[:] A Contribution to the Out-door Study of Natural History, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., page 90:
- You may frighten a pig, a goose, a frog, and even a fly, but you cannot frighten or surprise a sloth.
- 1928, E. A. Wallis Budge, transl., The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church[:] A translation of the Ethiopic Synaxarium […] , volume 1, London: Cambridge University Press, page 220:
- And he commanded his soldiers […] to frighten them with fierce swords, but the hearts of the holy men did not quail, and they were unable to alter their words.
- (intransitive) To become scared or alarmed.
- 1898, Franklane L. Sewell, Ida E. Tilson, “White Leghorns”, in The Poultry Herald Manual[:] A Guide to Successful Poultry Keeping, St. Paul, Minnesota: Webb Publishing Company, page 41:
- In fitting the White Leghorns for exhibition, it must be remembered that they are of nervous disposition and frighten easily.
- 1959, Harold G. (Hack) Miller, “Rod and gun”, in Hearings […] , Washington: United States Government Printing Office, page 101:
- Those male moose at the southeast arm didn't frighten very much when we docked to fly-fish one day. One was so scared of us he just walked toward us and snorted.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:frighten
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to disturb with fear
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Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
- friȝten, fyrten
Etymology
From Old English fyrhtan; equivalent to fright + -en (infinitival suffix).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfrixtən/, [ˈfriçtən]
Conjugation
Conjugation of frighten (weak in -ed)
infinitive | (to) frighten, frighte | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | frighte | frighted | |
2nd-person singular | frightest | frightedest | |
3rd-person singular | frighteth | frighted | |
subjunctive singular | frighte | ||
imperative singular | — | ||
plural1 | frighten, frighte | frighteden, frightede | |
imperative plural | frighteth, frighte | — | |
participles | frightynge, frightende | frighted, yfrighted |
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Descendants
- English: (to) fright (archaic)
References
- “frighten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.
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