scare
English edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /skɛə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /skɛɚ/
- (dialectal) IPA(key): /skɪə(ɹ)/[1]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English sker, skere (“terror, fright”), from the verb Middle English skerren (“to frighten”) (see below).
Noun edit
scare (plural scares)
- A minor fright.
- Johnny had a bad scare last night.
- 2011 June 4, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 2 Switzerland”, in BBC[1]:
- England were held to a draw after surviving a major scare against Switzerland as they were forced to come from two goals behind to earn a point in the Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.
- A cause of slight terror; something that inspires fear or dread.
- a food-poisoning scare
- A device or object used to frighten.
- 1948, Alec H. Chisholm, Bird Wonders of Australia, page 153:
- But I admit the possibility of their being used as "scares" for either birds of prey or snakes, or both.
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Middle English scaren, skaren, scarren, skeren, skerren, from Old Norse skirra (“to frighten; to shrink away from, shun; to prevent, avert”), from Proto-Germanic *skirzijaną (“to shoo, scare off”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to swing, jump, move”). Related to Old Norse skjarr (“timid, shy, afraid of”). Cognate with Scots skar (“wild, timid, shy”), dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk skjerra, dialectal Swedish skjarra and possibly Old Armenian ցիռ (cʿiṙ, “wild ass”).
Verb edit
scare (third-person singular simple present scares, present participle scaring, simple past and past participle scared)
- To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
- Did it scare you when I said "Boo!"?
- c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], lines 6-7:
- That cannot be; the noise of thy crossbow / Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost.
- 1995, The Langoliers:
- (Laurel Stevenson) Would you please be quiet? You're scaring the little girl.
(Craig Toomey) Scaring the little girl?! Scaring the little girl?! Lady!
Synonyms edit
- frighten
- terrify
- See also Thesaurus:frighten
Derived terms edit
- bird-scarer
- Red scare
- scare-babe
- scare-beggar
- scarecrow
- scared
- scaredy-cat
- scaremonger
- scare off
- scare out of one's wits
- scarer
- scare-sleep
- scare someone out of their mind
- scare someone out of their wits
- scare someone to death
- scare story
- scare straight
- scare the bejeebers out of
- scare-the-birds
- scare the daylights out of
- scare the hell out of
- scare the horses
- scare the life out of
- scare the living daylights out of
- scare the pants off
- scare the pants off of
- scare the shit out of
- scare up
Translations edit
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Etymology 3 edit
Adjective edit
scare (comparative more scare, superlative most scare)
References edit
- ^ Stanley, Oma (1937), “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, , →ISBN, § 6, page 16.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
From Latin scarus (also genus name Scarus), from Ancient Greek σκάρος (skáros).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
scare m (plural scares)
Further reading edit
- “scare”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.