frighten
verb [ T ] uk/ˈfraɪ.tən/ us/ˈfraɪ.tən/
B2 使害怕，使受惊
to make someone feel fear
He frightens me when he drives so fast. 他开车这么快，我很害怕。
You'll frighten the baby wearing that mask. 你戴那个面具会吓着宝宝的。
The noise frightened me to death/out of my wits (= gave me a severe fright). 那声音吓得我要死／不知所措。
- More examples
- They fired off several shots to frighten us.
- The fast-moving traffic frightened the horse.
- I was frightened by the anger in his voice.
- He frightens people by creeping up on them.
- Don't let her frighten you, her bark is worse than her bite.
Phrasal verbs
frighten someone/something away/off 把…吓走
to make a person or animal feel fear in order to make them go away
Be quiet or you'll frighten the deer off. 别出声，否则会把鹿吓跑的。
使…紧张得不去做…
to make someone so nervous that they decide not to do something
Many potential buyers were frightened off by the £1 million price tag. 很多潜在的买主都对这一百万英镑的价格标签望而却步。
frighten someone into something 把（某人）吓得…
to make someone so frightened that they do something they did not want to do