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

“My concern is about the publicizing of these kinds of incidents as a tool to frighten people,” Weiser said.

From Salon ● May 14, 2026

Chinese officials first tried to frighten Ms. Takaichi off such a hawkish line with insulting rhetoric.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

But it does hint strongly at extraterrestrial visitors being revealed to humankind with a tagline: "If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?"

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

“That’s a fib!” cried Jo, taking her by the shoulders, and looking fierce enough to frighten a much braver child than Amy.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

What frightens scientists more than the sheer numbers are that the cuts are arbitrary and manifestly pernicious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 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

Horror films have a way of knowing what frightens people on a social scale, even before we do.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025

They are not there when a noise frightens me.

From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

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

Both Oscar-nominated, Davis and Sarandon play beautifully off each other, funny and loose in one moment, frightened or furious the next.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Sam was just a teensy-weensy bit frightened of bees.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

At the time, fact-checkers and authorities found no verified evidence linking the meme to children harming themselves, although the frightening images were still capable of causing distress.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

The Ebola virus has spread across Democratic Republic of Congo at a frightening speed and one of the authorities' biggest fears is that it reaches the teeming capital of Kinshasa.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

While it sounds frightening to say rates are higher than they’ve been in nearly 20 years, the past two decades are the era that was abnormal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Minnie Driver’s Paris adventures went awry this week when she was involved in a car accident that she’s describing as a frightening close call.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

And behind this person, standing in the doorway, were an assortment of people the children could not see but who promised to be just as frightening.

From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket