Verb
You scared me. I didn't see you there.
Stop that, you're scaring the children. Noun
There have been scares about the water supply being contaminated.
fired over their heads in order to throw a scare into them
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Instead of scaring her off, though, SeeWalker will return to the mountain town in June.—John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 30 May 2024 Peabody managed to get the coal plant built even as investors abandoned dozens of similar projects, scared off by skyrocketing construction costs and the likelihood that climate pollution eventually would be regulated.—Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2024
Noun
Dark nights, beetles, and an occasional scare To study the beetles, Gough spent two summers as a graduate student at the University of Florida camping in southeast Arizona.—Ari Daniel, NPR, 22 May 2024 Her videos come after her first red carpet appearance since her undisclosed health scare which led to an extended hospital stay in March.—Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 21 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for scare
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from skjarr shy, timid
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