scared
Americanadjective
-
filled with fear, terror, or dread, often suddenly; frightened; alarmed.
The doctor provided not only physical treatment but also moral guidance for scared patients with terminal diagnoses.
I came into college as a scared freshman and left as a confident, competent adult.
verb
-
the simple past tense and past participle of scare.
Other Word Forms
- unscared adjective
Etymology
Origin of scared
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.
Just the opposite: They’re scared of the system.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Bolton described his partner as especially scared and outlined how their attempts to get help from the Turkish consulate and the Isle of Man government brought no resolution.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
The war has severed key logistics routes, scared away tourists from cities like Dubai and dramatically reduced air traffic throughout the region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
You’re scared, competitive and getting all this attention.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
People in the Cherokee hills were so scared of hydrophobia they didn’t talk about it in loud voices.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.