释义 |
fright I. \ˈfrīt, usu -īd.+V\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fyrhto, fryhto fear, fright; akin to Old English forht afraid, fearful, Old Frisian fruchte fear, Old Saxon & Old High German forht, foraht afraid, forhta fear, Gothic fauhrts afraid, fauhrtei fear, and perhaps to Tocharian A pärsk-, prask- to fear, praski fear, Tocharian B pärsk-, prāsk- to fear, prosko, proskye fear 1. a. : terror excited by sudden danger : sudden and violent fear usually of short duration : alarm < familiarity rubbed away the fright at the strangeness and dissipated the prejudice born of ignorance — Oscar Handlin > b. : an instance of such terror, fear, or alarm < the sudden apparition gave him a fright > c. : fear < incessant fright of the future — Oscar Handlin > 2. : something strange, ugly, unsightly, or shocking < he was a bundle of rags, his hair had grown prodigiously, his beard was a fright — I.L.Idriess > Synonyms: see fear II. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English frighten, from Old English fyrhtan, fryhtan; akin to Old English forhtian to fear, Old Frisian fruchtia, Old Saxon forhtian, Old High German furhten, forhten, Gothic faurhtjan to fear, Old English fyrhto, fryhto, n. : to alarm suddenly : scare, frighten < are not easily frighted by politics — Kiplinger Washington Letter > Synonyms: see frighten |