Wiktionary

frighten

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English fryghten, equivalent to fright +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/, [ˈfɹ̥aɪtn̩], [ˈfɹ̥aɪʔn̩]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪtən
  • Hyphenation: frigh‧ten

Verb

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frighten (third-person singular simple present frightens, present participle frightening, simple past and past participle frightened)

  1. (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.
  2. (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.
    • 1995 April, Jeff Csatari, “Tackle Tips”, in Boys' Life, volume 85, number 4, Irving, Texas: Boy Scouts of America, Inc., →ISSN, page 42:
      Be sneaky. Fish frighten easily.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English fyrhtan; equivalent to fright +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfrixtən/, [ˈfriçtən]

Verb

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frighten

  1. To frighten, scare

Conjugation

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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

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References

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