How to Use frighten in a Sentence
frighten
verb
- The child was badly frightened by the mask.
- The story really frightened me.
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The agents turned on their lights briefly, which frightened the thief.
—
Mary Zahn and Bill Janz,
Journal Sentinel,
17 Jan. 2024
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We are drawn to the sea and frightened by it, and always have been.
—
Carl Hoffman,
Washington Post,
1 Aug. 2023
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But that’s part of the process — being frightened — for all of us.
—
Brande Victorian,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Dec. 2023
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The woman was frightened and allowed Hunter to get in the back seat.
—
Karen Pilarski,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
17 July 2019
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Among the first were the theme parks which had failed to frighten Disney and a string of hotels.
—
Patrick Frater,
Variety,
6 Dec. 2023
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Their firearms can be concealed to not scare those who are frightened by the sight of guns.
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oregonlive,
26 Jan. 2023
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The man started stabbing the ground near the boy’s feet in an effort to frighten him.
—
Bob Sandrick,
cleveland,
24 Sep. 2021
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The poor things are frightened by the loud, unpredictable booms.
—
Tribune Content Agency,
The Mercury News,
4 Oct. 2024
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But nothing could move Ahmed; there was a fury in him that frightened her.
—
Anand Gopal,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2024
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The leaflets frightened some students, and scared some of their parents.
—
Amelia Nierenberg,
BostonGlobe.com,
25 Aug. 2023
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Most people tend to avoid things that scare or frighten them.
—
Alex Orlando,
Discover Magazine,
31 Oct. 2023
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That whole movement was a frightening one to have at a show.
—
Steve Knopper,
GQ,
16 Jan. 2018
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The Ducks success last season had to frighten the rest of the conference.
—
John Canzano,
oregonlive,
8 Dec. 2020
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One day, the lion king was frightened by a roaring noise in the forest.
—
Salman Rushdie,
The New Yorker,
31 Oct. 2023
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Those who were too weak to work were being killed off to frighten the rest of these migrants in the warehouse.
—
Prince Shakur,
Teen Vogue,
13 Dec. 2017
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Others were concerned the puppies had been frightened by the lights and crowd.
—
Abigail Marsh,
Washington Post,
20 Feb. 2018
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Still, some Black voters could make a third choice that should frighten Democrats: to not vote at all.
—
John Blake,
CNN,
1 Aug. 2021
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Lock yourself in the closet, jog, complain to your spouse, have a beer, but don’t frighten the kids.
—
Harrison Smith,
BostonGlobe.com,
5 Aug. 2022
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Passing cars frighten your loved one due to their noise or speed.
—
San Diego Elder Law Center,
sandiegouniontribune.com,
24 Apr. 2018
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The couple tried knocking on their door from the inside, to frighten it away.
—
Mark Price,
charlotteobserver,
30 Mar. 2018
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Here are the things that frighten Emilia the most: zombies and Kermit.
—
Washington Post,
6 Mar. 2021
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Why does the thought of people freely speaking their minds frighten them so?
—
Hanna Krueger,
NOLA.com,
10 Mar. 2018
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Many of us wear them as a courtesy, so as not to frighten others around us.
—
John Kass,
chicagotribune.com,
11 Sep. 2020
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But the experience frightened me off of my bike for a while.
—
Caille Millner,
San Francisco Chronicle,
4 May 2018
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The comedian wants the book to provide a space for kids to discuss the things that frighten them.
—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE.com,
16 Mar. 2022
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At the time, Hauser was frightened by the encounter and unsure of what to do and what the whale was intending.
—
National Geographic,
11 Jan. 2018
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Carmen walks away, frightened, but Lenù gets even closer to the scene of the crime, asking witnesses what happened.
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
4 Nov. 2024
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Even Hulu’s Rivals could frighten you with the depths of its amorous characters’ depravity.
—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
30 Oct. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frighten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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