scare
scare
Pronunciation
/skɛr/
sk: This is a consonant cluster, starting with the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ and followed by the voiceless velar stop /k/.
ɛr: This syllable starts with the open-mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/ and ends with the rhotic consonant /r/.
Word Form Variations
"Scare" can function as both a verb and a noun in English. Here's a breakdown of its word forms:
Verb
Base form: scare
"Loud noises scare me."
Third-person singular present: scares
"He scares easily."
Present participle: scaring
"They are scaring the birds away."
Past tense: scared
"The movie scared me last night."
Past participle: scared
"I have been scared of the dark since I was a child."
Noun
Singular: scare
"I got quite a scare when the lights went out."
Plural: scares
"There have been several bomb scares this year."
It's worth noting that while "scare" doesn't change much as a noun (just adding -s for plural), its verb forms follow the regular patterns for most verbs in English.
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb
Definition: To cause a sudden feeling of fear in someone or something.
Synonyms: frighten, alarm, startle, terrify, spook, intimidate
Antonyms: comfort, reassure, soothe, calm, embolden
Example: "The loud bang scared the dog."
Example: "Don't scare the children with those ghost stories."
Noun
Definition: A sudden feeling of fear or alarm.
Synonyms: fright, shock, alarm, panic
Antonyms: calm, peace, tranquility, composure
Example: "You gave me quite a scare when you jumped out like that!"
Example: "There was a bomb scare at the airport."
While "scare" can be used as an adjective (e.g., "scare tactics"), it's less common and usually functions as part of a fixed phrase. There isn't a common adverbial form of "scare".
Examples of Use
Books:
Fiction: "The woman screamed, not a panicked cry but a warning, and it scared him more than anything." (Stephen King, The Outsider) This example shows "scare" used as a verb in a suspenseful context, highlighting its ability to evoke strong emotion.
Non-fiction: "The 1980s saw a series of 'Satanic panic' scares, where daycares and schools were accused of ritual abuse." (from Moral Panics by Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda) This illustrates the noun form, referring to a widespread public fear.
Newspapers:
"Stocks Plunge After Inflation Scare" (headline from The Wall Street Journal) Here, "scare" is used as a noun to describe a sudden economic downturn.
"Police Investigate Bomb Scare at City Hall" (from The New York Times) This is another noun example, common in news reports about potential threats.
Online Publications:
"How to Scare Away Garden Pests Naturally" (article from Gardening Know How) This shows the verb form, focusing on frightening animals.
"The AI Scare Is Real, But It's Not What You Think" (opinion piece from Wired) This uses "scare" as a noun to describe a widespread anxiety about artificial intelligence.
Entertainment:
Movies: Countless horror films rely on jump scares and suspenseful music to frighten audiences (e.g., The Conjuring, Sinister). This refers to the technique of suddenly startling the viewer.
Video Games: Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are designed to scare players with unsettling atmospheres and terrifying creatures. Here, "scare" is a verb describing the intended effect on the player.
Public Discourse:
Politics: "The opposition party is using scare tactics to win votes." This demonstrates the adjective form in a fixed phrase, describing a manipulative strategy.
Everyday conversation: "Don't scare me like that!" This is a common informal use of the verb, expressing surprise and mild annoyance.
10 Famous Quotes Using Scare
"Courage is being scared to death — and saddling up anyway." — John Wayne
"Don't let the fear of striking out scare you from playing the game." — Babe Ruth
"I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens. Still, hospitals scare me more." — Woody Allen
"People scare better when they’re dying. That’s when they tell the truth." — Stephen King (from The Green Mile)
"If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough." — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former President of Liberia)
"You can’t scare me — I have daughters." — Unknown (popular humorous quote often attributed to fathers)
"Scare tactics never work on the heart. Hope does." — Michelle Obama (paraphrased from speeches on inspiration over intimidation)
"Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free. Don’t let it scare you." — Robin Sharma
"Governments love a good scare. It gives them power they didn’t earn." — Frank Herbert (author of Dune)
"What scares me most is not the violence of the bad but the silence of the good." — Martin Luther King Jr. (variation on his famous quote about silence and injustice)
Etymology
Imagine a time long ago, before English existed as we know it. In the lands of the Vikings, they had a word, "skirra," which meant to frighten or shy away. This word traveled across the sea to England, where it mixed with the evolving English language and became "skerren" in Middle English.
"Skerren" was first used around the 13th century, mainly as a verb meaning "to frighten." Think of it like saying "to make someone jump" or "to give them a fright." Over time, this word morphed into the "scare" we know today.
Interestingly, "scare" also grew into a noun, meaning a sudden feeling of fear. This probably happened because people started using phrases like "a sudden scare" or "a big scare," and eventually, "scare" stood on its own as a word for the feeling itself.
So, "scare" comes from an Old Norse word about being frightened, and it first appeared in English around the 13th century with a similar meaning. It's a word that has stuck around because, well, everyone gets scared sometimes!
Phrases + Idioms Containing Scare
Common Phrases:
Scare the living daylights out of someone: To frighten someone very badly.
Scare someone to death: Similar to above, emphasizing extreme fear.
Scare someone witless: To frighten someone so much they can't think clearly.
Scare someone off/away: To frighten something so it departs (literally or figuratively).
Jump scare: (Mostly in media) A sudden, startling moment designed to shock.
Scare tactics: Using fear to manipulate or persuade.
Less Common, but Established:
Put the scare on someone: To intimidate or threaten.
Scare up something: (Informal) To find or obtain something with some effort.
Original Phrases:
"Scare the wits into someone": Opposite of "witless", implying a shock that forces focus.
"A scare running deeper than..." : When fear masks a greater issue.
Idioms with Synonyms:
"Strike fear into the heart of..." (Stronger than "scare")
"Petrify someone with..." (Focus on immobility from fear)
"Make someone's blood run cold" (Emphasis on the feeling)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of scare from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
