scared

1 of 2

adjective

ˈskerd How to pronounce scared (audio)
Synonyms of scarednext
: thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic
scared of snakes
scared to go out

scared

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of scare entry 1

Synonyms of scared

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of scared in a Sentence

Adjective I am really scared about speaking in front of the class. He was scared that his mother wouldn't let him go to the movies with his friends. She's scared to walk alone at night.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The Democratic nominee against Knott hopes for an upset in a year when even Republican members in safe seats like the 13th District are running scared. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 Everyone is scared to testify against Szabo, so his legal case is dismissed. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2026 When Netflix lost Warner to Paramount, some got more scared – although mostly lingeringly in hindsight. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026 But still, many consumers have been sufficiently scared and still want to avoid them, even if replacement preservatives—like a blend of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, or benzyl alcohol—have far less safety data behind them than parabens. — Tracy Middleton, Allure, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scared

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1579, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scared was in 1579

Phrases Containing scared

Rhymes for scared

See All Rhymes for scared

Browse Nearby Words

scarecrow
scared
scaredness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scared.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scared. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All