frighten

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Johnson had hoped that running noisy appliances — the dishwasher and the laundry spin cycle — would scare the bear away, but all the noise managed to do was frighten his cat.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

Sanctions still hurt the targeted country, but they no longer frighten the market, especially if loosely enforced.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

The capacity of film to genuinely frighten, via editing, camera, music and—notably in a Wan film—ambient sound was being abandoned in favor of gore and giggles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

They now have quality players in attack who are full of confidence, who can frighten opposition defenders.

From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025

“You don’t frighten me,” said Coraline, although they did frighten her, very much.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman