frighten

English

Alternative forms

• freighten (obsolete)

Etymology

From fright +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹaɪtn̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪtən
• Hyphenation: frigh‧ten

Verb

frighten (third-person singular simple present frightens, present participle frightening, simple past and past participle frightened)

1. To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright

   Avery puts a sheet over her head, pretending to be a ghost to frighten Emily.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frighten

Translations

to disturb with fear

• Arabic: خَشَّى‎ m (ḵaššā), أَفْزَعَ‎ (ʾafzaʿa)

  Moroccan Arabic: خلع‎ (khle3)

• Bulgarian: плаша (bg) (plaša), изплашвам (bg) (izplašvam)
• Burmese: ခြောက် (my) (hkrauk)
• Catalan: espantar (ca), espaventar (ca), esporuguir (ca), esgarrifar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嚇唬 (zh), 吓唬 (zh) (xiàhu), 嚇 (zh), 吓 (zh) (xià)

• Czech: vystrašit
• Danish: skræmme (da)
• Dutch: bang (nl) maken (nl), beangstigen (nl)
• Esperanto: timigi
• Finnish: pelottaa (fi), säikyttää (fi)
• French: effrayer (fr), redouter (fr), terrifier (fr)
• Friulian: spaurî
• Galician: espantar (gl), atemorizar (gl)
• Georgian: შეშინება (šešineba)
• German: Angst machen, erschrecken (de), schrecken (de), beängstigen (de), ängstigen (de)
• Greek: τρομάζω (el) (tromázo)

  Ancient: ἐκφοβέω (ekphobéō), φοβέω (phobéō), φοβερίζω (phoberízō), πτήσσω (ptḗssō)

• Irish: cuir eagla ar, scanraigh
• Italian: spaurire, spaventare (it)
• Japanese: 怖がらせる (こわがらせる, kowagaraseru)
• Latin: terreō

• Latvian: baidīt, biedēt, biedināt
• Malay: menakutkan
• Nahuatl: tetzauhqui
• Pashto: وېرول‎ (werawël)
• Persian: ترساندن‎ (fa) (tarsândan)
• Polish: przestraszyć (pl), nastraszyć
• Portuguese: intimidar (pt), amedrontar (pt), ameaçar (pt)
• Romanian: speria (ro), înspăimânta (ro)
• Russian: пуга́ть (ru) impf (pugátʹ), испуга́ть (ru) pf (ispugátʹ), напуга́ть (ru) pf (napugátʹ)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: tšachaś

• Spanish: atemorizar (es)
• Swahili: -ogofya (sw), -ogofisha
• Swedish: skrämma (sv)
• Telugu: భయపడు (te) (bhayapaḍu)
• Turkish: korkutmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: ляка́ти (ljakáty)
• Walloon: sbarer (wa), fé sogne (wa)
• Welsh: dychryn (cy)
• Westrobothnian: räädd

Anagrams

• fringeth

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• friȝten, fyrten

Etymology

From Old English fyrhtan; equivalent to fright +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfrixtən/, [ˈfriçtən]

Verb

frighten

1. To frighten, scare

Conjugation

Conjugation of frighten (weak)

infinitive	(to) frighten
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	frighte	frightede
2nd person singular	frightest	frightedest
3rd person singular	frighteth, frighteþ	frightede
plural	frighten	frighteden
subjunctive	present	past
singular	frighte	frightede
plural	frighten	frighteden
imperative	present
singular	frighte
plural	frighteth, frighteþ
participle	present	past
	frightende, frightinge	frighted, yfrighted

Descendants

• English: (to) fright (archaic)

References

• “frighten (v.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.