scare
gb/skˈɛɹ/ us/skˈɛɹ/
A2
English
~ 700
Senses
0 senses
Verb
A2
action
1
Cause someone to feel fear
To make someone feel afraid suddenly.
Usage pattern:
to scare [someone]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'scare' with 'afraid'. 'Scare' is an action, while 'afraid' is a feeling.
Synonyms
frighten (Very close in meaning; slightly more formal than 'scare'.)
|
startle (Implies a quick, surprising fright rather than deep fear.)
Antonyms
reassure (Means to make someone feel calm and safe instead of afraid.)
Collocations
scare away
|scare off
|really scare
|scare badly
|scare easily
Themes
emotions
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The loud noise scared the children.
- You really scared me when you jumped out from behind the door.
- The possibility of losing his job scared him.
Learner examples
- The dog scared the little boy.
- The movie scared me a lot.
- A big spider scared her.
Noun
B1
state
2
Sudden feeling of fear
A short time when you feel afraid suddenly.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'scare' (noun) with 'scary' (adjective). The noun is the event, the adjective describes something that causes fear.
Synonyms
fright (Slightly more formal and less common than 'scare' in everyday speech.)
Antonyms
calm (A state of peace and lack of fear, opposite to a scare.)
Collocations
give a scare
|get a scare
|health scare
|security scare
Themes
emotions
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- That horror film gave me a real scare.
- We had a bit of a health scare last year.
- The false alarm caused a big security scare.
Learner examples
- The loud bang gave me a scare.
- He had a health scare last year.
- The fire alarm gave us all a scare.
Verb
B1
action
3
Make something go away by fear
To make someone or something go away because they are afraid.
Usage pattern:
to scare [someone/something] away/off
Synonyms
deter (More formal; often used for preventing actions through fear or difficulty.)
Antonyms
attract (Means to cause someone or something to come closer instead of go away.)
Collocations
scare off intruders
|scare away birds
|scare off competition
Themes
emotions
|daily life
|animals
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The guard dog scared off the burglars.
- We put up a scarecrow to scare away the crows.
- High prices can scare away customers.
Learner examples
- The loud noise scared away the cats.
- The police siren scared off the thief.
- We use lights to scare away animals.
Grammar
Dictionary form
scare
IPA
GB/skˈɛɹ/
US/skˈɛɹ/
Syllables & stress
scare (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (scare)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: scare
- Plural: scares
Verb
- Base: scare
- 3rd Person Singular: scares
- Present Participle: scaring
- Past: scared
Word family
Forms
scares
noun
scaring
verb
scared
verb
Core family
scary
adjective A2
Advanced or less common
scarily
adverb
scariness
noun
Expressions
give someone a scare
1/ɡˈɪv sˈʌmwˌʌn ə skˈɛɹ/
fixed phrase
Cause brief sudden fear in someone
To make someone suddenly feel afraid for a short time.
Examples
- You gave me a real scare when you shouted like that.
- Falling down the stairs gave her quite a scare.
health scare
1/hˈɛlθ skˈɛɹ/
fixed phrase
Event causing sudden health worry
A time when people are suddenly worried about health problems.
Examples
- He had a health scare but is fine now.
- The outbreak caused a major public health scare.
scare away
1/skˈɛɹ əwˈeɪ/
phrasal verb
Cause departure through fear
To make someone or something leave because they are afraid.
Examples
- The noise scared away the birds.
- Bad service can scare away customers.
scare off
1/skˈɛɹ ˈɔf/
phrasal verb
Frighten away someone or something
To make someone or something go away because they are afraid or worried.
Examples
- The barking dog scared off the stranger.
- High rent prices can scare off new businesses.