fright·en

verb

/ˈfraɪtn/

[transitive, intransitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they frighten	/ˈfraɪtn/ /ˈfraɪtn/
he / she / it frightens	/ˈfraɪtnz/ /ˈfraɪtnz/
past simple frightened	/ˈfraɪtnd/ /ˈfraɪtnd/
past participle frightened	/ˈfraɪtnd/ /ˈfraɪtnd/
-ing form frightening	/ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/ /ˈfraɪtnɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

to make somebody suddenly feel afraid使惊吓；使惊恐
- frighten (somebody) Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.对不起，我没有吓唬你的意思。
- (informal) He used to frighten me to death (= a lot), zooming about on his go-cart. 他常常开着他的卡丁车疾驰而过，把我吓死了（=很多次）。
- She's not easily frightened.她不是能轻易吓倒的。
- She doesn't frighten easily (= it is not easy to make her afraid).她不是能轻易吓倒的。
- it frightens somebody to think, see, hear, etc… It really frightens me to think how this might have ended.想到这一切原本可能的结果，我真的很害怕。
- it frightens somebody that… It frightened him that she could see so easily into his private thoughts. 她能如此轻易地看出他的内心所想，这使他害怕。
Synonyms frighten
frightenscare ▪ alarm ▪ terrifyThese words all mean to make somebody afraid.
frighten to make somebody feel afraid, often suddenly:
He brought out a gun and frightened them off.他掏出一把枪，把他们吓跑了。
scare to make somebody feel afraid:
They managed to scare the bears away.他们设法把熊吓跑了。
alarm to make somebody anxious or afraid:
It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously.谁都不认真对待这个问题，我非常担心。
Alarm is used when somebody has a feeling that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.terrify to make somebody feel extremely afraid:
Flying terrified her.她害怕坐飞机。
frighten or scare?Scare is slightly more informal than frighten.Patterns
- to frighten/scare somebody/something away/off
- to frighten/scare/terrify somebody into doing something
- It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me that…
- It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me to think, see, etc.
Extra Examples
- Don't creep around like that! You frightened the life out of me!不要这样蹑手蹑脚地到处走！你把我吓得要命！
- The prospect of war really frightens me.战争的即将到来真的把我吓坏了。
- Stop it! You're frightening me!住手！你吓着我了！
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- really
- almost
- easily
- …
verb + frighten
- want to
- not mean to
- try to
- …
phrases
- frighten somebody to death
- frighten the life out of somebody

Idioms

frighten/scare the (living) daylights out of somebody

(informal) to frighten somebody very much把某人吓得魂不附体；使魂飞魄散

frighten/scare the life out of somebody

(informal) to frighten somebody very much把某人吓得魂不附体；使魂飞魄散
- You scared the life out of me coming in so suddenly like that.你突然闯进来，吓死我了。

frighten/scare somebody to death

(informal) to frighten somebody very much把某人吓得魂不附体；使魂飞魄散
- Spiders frighten him to death.蜘蛛把他吓死了。