frighten

First used by Ottoman military "mehter" bands to frighten and demoralise the enemy, cymbals were a useful tool for an empire on the warpath.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

I was aware that I didn’t want to frighten my kids with it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The alerts didn’t frighten her as much as before, she said, and her fears about the future have eased.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

He’s a student of life as much as he is filmmaking, a humanist who forges connections with spectacular sights of the things that frighten and fascinate us the most.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

It was enough to frighten anyone, Nat admitted to himself.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

I’m not here to persuade you to fly if it frightens you that much.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

"Touch wood, no. I've been very, very close. It's this that frightens them", he tugs his orange vest.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

Desai: It looked at year end like Kevin Hassett’s star was on the rise, but none of the names discussed frightens me.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

A sniff of a rotting old chair frightens Indy so much, he wets the rug.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025

But it’s the look in his eyes—angry yet unfocused—that frightens me the most.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

His favorite musician is Prince, but when the book begins, he’s too frightened to buy the artist’s new album, “Lovesexy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

“I was frightened about it,” Ochoa, now 78, who was born in Los Angeles and spoke no Spanish at the time, said in an interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

After the riots, Maria stayed inside her home for seven days, too frightened to leave.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

“I was frightened and frenzied, which is what con artists use to get our hard-earned cash.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Going from this frightened angry person to being a spy, a hero.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

I walk down the street and I see an alarming number of people wearing weighted walking vests now, which is so frightening that it requires me to catch my breath every now and again.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

That is more frightening than stupidity, which can at least be kept out of the meeting.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Aside from the big, flashy and sometimes frightening game ingredients coming from the train kitchen, there are subtle notes of Australia on every plate.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

She wrote: "Early indications are that the pain is very much improved - although I am still healing from the surgery itself so that also feels uncertain and frightening to admit - even to myself."

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

She went from being a tired woman to looking downright frightening.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall