as in frightens
to strike with fear
thunderstorms have always scared her
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Recent Examples of scares
James Cook is a great running back and certainly helps open up the passing game, and while the Bills have a decent tight end room and some average pass catchers, there isn't one wide receiver on the roster who scares teams.
—
Jon Conahan, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
And yet, even though not having children is becoming more widely accepted and understood in our society, there’s something about a woman who has never been married that still confuses and scares people.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025
Like many bold climbers of his era, Chouinard was no stranger to scares.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Oct. 2025
The Kings had a couple of injury scares when Schroder and Ellis were shaken up in the third period.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Thinking about life without him scares me a lot.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Nice to know there’s stuff that scares him.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025
There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The pitching scares me a little bit, but that’s true of every postseason team.
—The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Jon Conahan, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
And yet, even though not having children is becoming more widely accepted and understood in our society, there’s something about a woman who has never been married that still confuses and scares people.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025
Like many bold climbers of his era, Chouinard was no stranger to scares.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Oct. 2025
The Kings had a couple of injury scares when Schroder and Ellis were shaken up in the third period.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Thinking about life without him scares me a lot.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Nice to know there’s stuff that scares him.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025
There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
The pitching scares me a little bit, but that’s true of every postseason team.
—The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scares
Verb
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Within my book, one of the things that frightens me most is the fact that with censorship, there’s often not a clear red line, right?—
Fiction Non Fiction
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
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What specifically frightens you?—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While early allergen introduction is not without complexities, the measurable reduction in peanut allergies—once the most common pediatric food allergy and one that terrifies allergy parents—signals a milestone in preventive care.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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Jesus may haunt Wendell, but Wendell terrifies Lee.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As the dolphin gets closer to the glass, the Chihuahua lets out a bark that startles the dolphin, who then starts mimicking the dog's mouth movements in a sort of chasing game across species.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scares. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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