1FRIGHTENEDto make someone feel afraid 使害怕,使惊吓SYN scare
Don’t stand so near the edge! You’re frightening me.
别站得那么靠边!你要把我吓坏了。
She was frightened by the anger in his eyes.
她被他眼中的怒火吓住了。
Computers used to frighten me, but not now.
电脑过去让我感到害怕,但现在不了。
frighten somebody to death/frighten the life out of somebody (=make someone feel extremely afraid) 把某人吓得要死
He drove at a speed which frightened Lara to death.
他开车的速度把拉拉吓得要死。
2frighten somebody ↔ awayphrasal verbphr vLEAVE A PLACEto make a person or animal go away by making them feel afraid 吓走
Terrorist activity in the area has frightened most tourists away.
该地区的恐怖活动已经把大多数游客都吓走了。
Examples from the Corpus
frighten away• As is now clear, it was this totally unnecessaryact of hubris that more than anything else frightened the voters away.
3frighten somebody into somethingphrasal verbphr vFORCE somebody TO DO somethingto force someone to do something by making them afraid 把某人吓得做某事
frighten somebody into doing something
He frightened me into staying silent.
他吓唬我要我保持沉默。
4frighten somebody/something ↔ offphrasal verbphr vLEAVE A PLACEto make a person or animal so nervous or afraid that they go away or do not do something they were going to do 吓走,吓跑
The investors were frightened off by the company’s low profits that year.
投资者被该公司当年的低利润吓跑了。
Examples from the Corpus
frighten off• Also, the ghosts of the carversfrightened me off.• I couldn't let him know the strength of my feelings - I was afraid it might frighten him off.• She was going out with a friend of mine, but she came on so strong that she frightened him off.• They wanted to talk to you direct, but I said that would frighten you off.• You're right to tread carefully, as if you do say anything to him you might well frighten him off!• I was very frightened of falling off the edge of the table, which was ten metres from the ground.
nTHESAURUS
frighten to make someone feel afraid
The thought of being in court frightened him.
scare especially spoken to frighten someone. Scare is less formal than frighten, and is the usualword to use in everyday English
He was driving fast just to scare us.
It scared him to think that his mother might never recover.
terrify to make someone feel extremely frightened
The idea of going down into the caves terrified her.
Robbers terrified bank staff by threatening them at gunpoint.
give somebody a fright to make someone suddenly feel frightened in a way that makes their heartbeat more quickly
It gave me a terrible fright when I found him unconscious on the floor.
give somebody the creeps if a person or place gives you the creeps, they make you feel slightly frightened because they are strange
This house gives me the creeps.
startle to frighten someone. Used when you suddenly see someone and did not know they were there, or when you suddenly hear something
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.
The noise startled him, and he dropped his glass on the floor.
alarm to make someone feel frightened and worried that something bad might happen
I didn’t want to alarm her by calling in the middle of the night.
intimidate to deliberately frighten someone, especially so that they will do what you want
Many of the gangs were using dogs to intimidate people.
Examples from the Corpus
frighten• He was broke and he was frightened.• Many couples have been frightened by questionable results.• The driver was frightened by the shots.• Film-makers have always known that one way to capture an audience is to frighten it out of its wits.• It frightens me to know that the rapist still hasn't been caught.• I wasn't frightened of it.• Now he could imagine children being frightened of it.• The man pulled out a gun and managed to frighten off his attackers.• Take that sillymask off -- you're frightening the children.• Melissa spun round to see Eddie standing behind her. "You frightened the daylights out me!" she gasped. "I never heard you come in."• Travis, you just frighten the dog when you play that music.• What are you doing creeping up on me like that? You frightened the life out of me!• I think she was frightened to be too strict.• Their lawyers tried to frighten us into signing the contract.• Does the thought of deathfrighten you?
ADVERB | VERB + FRIGHTEN | PHRASESADVERB➤really真正嚇着◇The prospect of war really frightens me.戰爭的即將到來真的把我嚇壞了。➤almost幾乎嚇到▸➤easily很容易受驚◇a man who doesn't frighten easily(= become frightened easily)不輕易受驚的男子VERB + FRIGHTEN➤want to想嚇▸➤not mean to不是故意想嚇◇I didn't mean to frighten you.我不是故意想嚇你。➤try to試圖嚇PHRASES➤frighten sb to death, frighten the life out of sb (BrE, bothinformal) 把某人嚇得要死◇Don't creep around like that! You frightened me to death!不要這樣躡手躡腳地到處走!你嚇死我了!
frighten ♦︎ scare ♦︎ alarm ♦︎ terrify ♦︎ traumatize ♦︎ spookThese words all mean to make sb afraid.这些词均表示使害怕、使恐惧。SYNONYM SCALE 词义标尺下图显示这些词所表达使人恐惧的程度
alarm
➔
frighten
➔
terrify
scare
traumatize
spook
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆to frighten / scare sb / sth away / off◆to frighten / scare / terrify sb into doing sth◆It frightens / scares / alarms / terrifies me that...◆It frightens / scares / alarms / terrifies me to think, see, etc.■frighten [transitive] to make sb feel afraid, often suddenly(常为突如其来地)使惊吓,使惊恐◆Stop it! You're frightening me!住手!你吓着我了!◆Oh sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you.哦,对不起,我没有吓唬你的意思。◆He brought out a gun and frightened them off.他掏出一把枪,把他们吓跑了。 see also frightened ⇨ afraid, fright ⇨ fearnoun, intimidate ⇨ threaten1■scare [transitive] (ratherinformal) to frighten sb使惊吓;使惊恐◆It scared me to think I was alone in the building.想到楼里只有我一个人,怪害怕的。◆They managed to scare the bears away.他们设法把那些熊吓跑了。◆ (informal) The very thought of flying scares him silly / stiff.光是想到坐飞机,他就吓傻了。 see also scared ⇨ afraidNOTE辨析 Frighten or scare?Scare is slightly more informal than frighten, so it is used more in spoken than in written English. Both verbs can also be used without an object, but this is not very frequent.比起frighten,scare略非正式,因此多用于口语而非书面语中。这两个动词均可不带宾语,但此用法不太常见◆He doesn't frighten / scare easily.他不是轻易能吓倒的。 It is more natural to say下面的说法更自然◆Nothing frightens / scares him.什么也吓不倒他。or或◆He doesn't get frightened / scared easily.他不是轻易能吓倒的。■alarm [transitive] (not usually used in the progressive tenses通常不用于进行时) to make sb anxious or afraid使惊恐;使害怕;使担心◆It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously.没有人认真对待这个问题,这令我非常担心。◆The captain knew there was a problem but didn't want to alarm the passengers.船长知道出了问题,但他不想惊动乘客。ⓘ Alarm is used when sb has a feeling that sth unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear. * alarm用以描述感到不快或危险之事可能要发生的心情,多为忧虑而非真的害怕。 see also alarm ⇨ fearnoun, alarmed ⇨ afraid, startle ⇨ surpriseverb■terrify [transitive] to make sb feel extremely afraid使极为恐惧;使十分害怕◆Flying terrified her.她很怕坐飞机。◆He terrified employees at the bank into handing over cash.他恐吓银行职员交出现金。 see also terrified ⇨ afraid■traumatize (BrE alsotraumatise) ˈtrɔːmətaɪz; NAmEˈtraʊmətaɪz [transitive, usually passive] to make sb feel very upset, afraid or shocked, often making them unable to think or work normally使受精神创伤◆We were traumatized by what we saw.我们所看到的景象令我们精神受创。◆He was traumatized for life.他的精神创伤终生未愈。 see also trauma ⇨ nightmare, traumatic ⇨ painful2■spookspuːk [transitive] (informal) to frighten a person or animal吓,惊吓(人或动物)◆We were spooked by the strange noises and lights.那奇怪的声音和亮光把我们吓坏了。