affrighted 1 of 2

adjective

as in frightened
filled with fear or dread the affrighted villagers ran in all directions at the first sight of the monster

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

affrighted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of affright
as in scared
to strike with fear a ghastly sight that would affright any person

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for affrighted
  1. frightened
  2. scared
  3. terrified
  4. startled
  5. afraid
  6. horrified
  7. alarmed
  8. fearful
Adjective
  • In May, a frightened horse rammed into another carriage, causing the vehicle to flip over, injuring the driver.
    — ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
  • Rodríguez acknowledged that many remain too frightened to return home even after inspections declared some buildings safe.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 June 2026
Definition of frightened
Verb
  • There was one American flag sign lit, with some storefront decor gleaming red, white and blue, but the heat seemingly scared most away from celebrating July 4 before Saturday's big day.
    — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • For a family already scared and stressed, that free access made a big difference.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • Outrage continues to grow after a drone was reported stalking a terrified wild mustang on North Carolina’s northern Outer Banks.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 2 July 2026
  • Campbell found the minister on the ground, terrified and in pain.
    — Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
Definition of terrified
Verb
  • Comcast startled the industry and Wall Street with the split news early Monday, which comes just a few months after NBCU’s cable networks were spun off into a new company, Versant Media.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 June 2026
  • Hyland said he’s been startled by how close the construction barges come to shore.
    — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 28 June 2026
Definition of startled
Adjective
  • The ruling leaves trans student-athletes and their advocates feeling angry and afraid.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 1 July 2026
  • Pregnant mothers are afraid of their babies not being able to have a home.
    — Dennis Valera, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • The first police officer on the scene quickly ran back to the station for help, while neighbors calmed the horrified Lizzie.
    — Sophia Zhang, Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 June 2026
  • As a horrified Sam inadvertently observes, a creature has been sating itself on his buddy’s brain.
    — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026
Definition of horrified
Adjective
  • Politico reported on Wednesday that even some key Republicans are alarmed at the supplemental, claiming the administration hadn't provided enough information.
    — Dan Mangan,Luke Fountain,Kevin Breuninger,Garrett Downs,Ashley Capoot,Justin Papp, CNBC, 2 July 2026
  • The talks unfold amid fresh crossfire over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil chokepoint the closure of which has fueled a global energy crisis and alarmed allies.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of alarmed
Adjective
  • The bitcoin price has dropped sharply this year, with traders fearful a further price crash could be looming.
    — Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Some have encouraged online attendance, while others have offered help doing errands such as grocery shopping for people too fearful to leave their homes.
    — Valerie Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of fearful
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.

Browse Nearby Words

affright
affrighted
affrighting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Affrighted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affrighted. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All