frighten

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But it does hint strongly at extraterrestrial visitors being revealed to humankind with a tagline: "If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?"

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2025

Johnson had hoped that running noisy appliances — the dishwasher and the laundry spin cycle — would scare the bear away, but all the noise managed to do was frighten his cat.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

Sanctions still hurt the targeted country, but they no longer frighten the market, especially if loosely enforced.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

The capacity of film to genuinely frighten, via editing, camera, music and—notably in a Wan film—ambient sound was being abandoned in favor of gore and giggles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

“Maybe it was the feathers in Georgie’s hair,” Lissa said, “and the war paint. He jumped out of the bushes screaming and yelling. I guess he was trying to frighten us.”

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn