scare

verb

/skeə(r)/

/sker/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they scare	/skeə(r)/ /sker/
he / she / it scares	/skeəz/ /skerz/
past simple scared	/skeəd/ /skerd/
past participle scared	/skeəd/ /skerd/
-ing form scaring	/ˈskeərɪŋ/ /ˈskerɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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[transitive] to frighten somebody
- scare somebody You scared me.
- it scares somebody to do something It scared me to think I was alone in the building.
Synonyms frighten
frighten
- scare
- alarm
- terrify
These words all mean to make somebody afraid.
- frighten to make somebody feel afraid, often suddenly:
  He brought out a gun and frightened them off.
- scare to make somebody feel afraid:
  They managed to scare the bears away.
- alarm to make somebody anxious or afraid:
  It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously.
  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.
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
- The very thought of flying scares me stiff.
- You don't scare me with your threats!
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- really
- easily
- away
- …
verb + scare
- try to
- want to
- start to
- …
preposition
- into
- with
phrases
- scare somebody silly
- scare somebody stiff
- scare somebody to death
- …
See full entry
[intransitive] to become frightened
- He doesn't scare easily.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- really
- easily
- away
- …
verb + scare
- try to
- want to
- start to
- …
preposition
- into
- with
phrases
- scare somebody silly
- scare somebody stiff
- scare somebody to death
- …
See full entry

scare

noun

/skeə(r)/

/sker/

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[countable] (used especially in newspapers) a situation in which a lot of people are anxious or frightened about something
- a health scare
- recent scares about pesticides in food
- a scare story (= a news report that spreads more anxiety or fear about something than is necessary)
- to cause a major scare
- scare tactics (= ways of persuading people to do something by frightening them)
see also bomb scare
Extra Examples
- The ad uses scare tactics to get people to stop smoking.
- There was a bomb scare at the airport.
- the scare over bird flu
Topics Feelingsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- major
- nasty
- terrible
- …
verb + scare
- cause
- give somebody
- get
- …
scare + noun
- campaign
- story
- tactics
- …
preposition
- scare about
- scare over
phrases
- a bit of a scare
- quite a scare
See full entry
[singular] a sudden feeling of fear
- You gave me a scare!
- We've had quite a scare.
Extra Examples
- I got quite a scare when the police called me.
- It wasn't a serious heart attack, but it gave him a terrible scare.
- Les had a health scare two years ago and was ordered to cut down on drinking.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- major
- nasty
- terrible
- …
verb + scare
- cause
- give somebody
- get
- …
scare + noun
- campaign
- story
- tactics
- …
preposition
- scare about
- scare over
phrases
- a bit of a scare
- quite a scare
See full entry
see also scary

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse skirra ‘frighten’, from skjarr ‘timid’.