scaredscared /skeəd $ skerd/ ●●● S3 adjective 
At first, he was really scared.scared of somebody/something I’ve always been scared of dogs.scared of doing something Don’t be scared of asking for help.scared (that) I wanted to ask her out, but was scared that she might refuse.scared to do something The boys were scared to cross the street.scared stiff/scared to death/scared out of your wits (=extremely frightened) I was scared stiff at the thought of making a speech.► see thesaurus at frightenedRegisterScared is slightly informal. In written English, people usually prefer to use afraid or frightened:· She was afraid of losing Anna in the crowd.COLLOCATIONSadverbsvery/really scared· By this time I was feeling really scared.quite scared· Some of the children were quite scared.a bit/little scared· I was always a little scared of my father.verbsfeel scared· She was beginning to feel a bit scared.look scared· What’s the matter? You look scared.get scared (=start to feel scared)· It was now completely dark and I was getting scared.phrasesscared to death (=extremely scared)· He looked scared to death.scared stiff informal (=extremely scared)· I was scared stiff of going down those cellar steps.scared witless/out of your wits informal (=extremely scared)· She admitted she was scared witless.be running scared (=feel scared, especially because someone might catch you or defeat you)· The opposition were running scared.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I hate reading out my work in class - I'm scared that people are going to laugh at me.
- I stood still, scared to move forward and scared to go back.
- I think they were all scared of offending him.
- She's always been scared of heights.
- The first time I went on a motorcycle I was really scared.
- When he came back he looked scared stiff, as if he'd seen a ghost.
- He was too scared to be otherwise.
- Now most of her contacts were out-of-town businessmen, far more scared of comebacks than she'd ever have to be.
- She didn't know why she felt so scared.
- She says she gets nervous whenever there's a car behind her, and she's scared of speed.
- Then he came into the bedroom to see me and I got really scared.
- There are people who encouraged me not to worry, not to be scared, but it's hard.
- Why on earth is his Department so scared of answering questions on this subject?
- You're scared of him, aren't you, whoever he is?
THESAURUS
feeling worried because you might get hurt or because something bad might happen: · I was too frightened to say anything.· Many animals are frightened of fireworks.· Frightened residents called the police as the gang started throwing bricks.
[not before noun] especially spoken frightened. Scared is less formal than frightened and is the usual word to use in everyday English: · I’m scared of dogs.· Old people are too scared to go out of their homes.
[not before noun] frightened. Afraid sounds more formal than frightened or scared: · Children are often afraid of the dark.· I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing.
frightened and worried that something bad might happen: · She was alarmed at the thought of performing in front of an audience.· Alarmed passengers spotted fuel leaking from the plane.
formal frightened that something bad might happen: · They are fearful of another terrorist attack.· He was fearful that he might make another mistake.· a fearful panic
very frightened very frightened: · He looked terrified as the plane took off.· James was absolutely terrified of losing his only child.· He dragged the terrified woman into his car.
very frightened – used especially when you are so frightened that you cannot think or move: · She’s absolutely petrified of spiders.
informal very frightened: · I had to make a speech, and I was scared stiff.· She was scared to death of her father.
written if you do something in terror, you do it because you are very frightened: · People fled in terror as the building went up in flames.
Longman Language Activatorfrightened of someone or something feeling very nervous and afraid of someone or something, because you think something bad is going to happen to you because of them: · Don't be frightened, it's only thunder.· Two frightened children were hiding in a corner of the room.frightened of: · A lot of people are frightened of dentists.· Are you frightened of the dark?frightened to do something: · I was frightened to move in case the branch broke.frightened of doing something: · He was frightened of making mistakes.frightened (that): · I was frightened my parents would get divorced, and wished that there was something I could do to make them happy again. · Alice kept perfectly still, frightened that the dog might attack her.
frightened: · Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you.afraid of: · He had a terrible temper and everyone was afraid of him.· It's amazing how many people are afraid of spiders.afraid (that): · Billy was afraid his aunt would punish him if he owned up.afraid to do something: · She was afraid to speak up in front of all these important people.afraid of doing something: · I didn't tell anyone, because I was afraid of being punished (=afraid I might be punished).
especially spoken frightened: · The first time I went on a motorcycle I was really scared.scared of: · She's always been scared of heights.scared to do something: · I stood still, scared to move forward and scared to go back.scared of doing something: · I think they were all scared of offending him.scared (that): · I hate reading out my work in class - I'm scared that people are going to laugh at me.scared stiff/scared to death (=very scared): · When he came back he looked scared stiff, as if he'd seen a ghost.
extremely frightened: · The faces of the four terrified teenagers looked up at us.terrified of: · He's absolutely terrified of snakes.terrified to do something: · The little boy cowered behind the tree, terrified to make a sound.terrified (that): · I was terrified that my father would find out I had lied to him.absolutely terrified : · I couldn't move - I was absolutely terrified.
extremely frightened, especially so frightened that you cannot move: · She just stood there, petrified at the thought of the crowds waiting outside.absolutely petrified: · He had the gun pointed at my head. I was absolutely petrified.petrified of: · She's a very nervous dog, and she's petrified of traffic.be petrified with fear: · He was petrified with fear as I held my knife in front of him.
so frightened that you cannot think clearly or behave sensibly, especially when something has suddenly frightened you: · A few seconds after the explosion the street was full of panic-stricken people, fleeing in all directions.· Mr Cottle dashed in, looking panic-stricken.· In a panic-stricken attempt to free herself from Annie's grip, she snatched the scissors off the table.
to always be afraid of something unpleasant that is fairly likely to happen: · Until security can be assured, the people here will continue to live in fear.live in fear of something/doing something: · After leaking the secret document, Sarah lived in fear of being found out.live in fear (that): · A surgeon lives in constant fear that something will go wrong in an operation when he's feeling tired.
informal extremely frightened: · You must have been scared stiff when you saw the car coming straight towards you.· Helen had to go for an interview with the school Principal -- she was scared stiff.· I knew a man was following me, and I was scared out of my wits.· Some of the prisoners were only 16 or 17, and they looked scared to death.
when you do not want to do something because you are frightened to be unwilling to do something because you are frightened about what may happen if you do it. Be scared is more informal than be afraid or be frightened: · I wanted to talk to you about it, but I was frightened.· We are urging our citizens to carry on as normal and not be afraid.· A lot of young children are frightened the first time they are put on a horse's back.be afraid/be frightened/be scared to do something: · Many old people are afraid to go out at night.be afraid/be frightened/be scared of doing something: · She asked me to come with her because she was scared of going there on her own.· He's frightened of flying in case there's a bomb on the plane.be afraid/be frightened/be scared (that): · She was afraid that if she went to the police, her husband would beat her up again.
to be unwilling to do something because you are extremely frightened about what may happen if you do it: · When my name was finally called I was terrified.be terrified (that): · I didn't tell my parents I was pregnant. I was terrified that they would throw me out of the house.be terrified of doing something: · They always travel by boat because Jimmy's terrified of flying.be terrified to do something: · She was too terrified to jump from the flames.
to feel worried and frightened about something you have to do: · I have to go to the dentist's tomorrow, and I'm dreading it.dread doing something: · The Wilsons were coming back from holiday today, and I was dreading telling them what had happened while they were away.
written to be frightened about what may happen if you do something: · Many of the gang's victims refused to give information to the police because they feared reprisals.fear (that): · The rescuers dug slowly and carefully, fearing that the wreckage might collapse on top of them.
formal to be unwilling to do something because you are worried about the possibility of trouble or danger: be fearful of: · The Energy Department, fearful of public reaction, has cancelled its plans to build four new nuclear reactors.be fearful of doing something: · The threats left her plagued by nightmares, and fearful of making public appearances. be fearful (that): · She gave up smoking when she was pregnant, fearful that it might damage her baby.
if you are unwilling to do something for fear of something bad happening, you are frightened that something bad will happen if you do it: · The workers are unhappy but will not complain for fear of losing their jobs.· I didn't turn on the light, for fear of waking the baby.· Women and the elderly refuse to leave their apartments, for fear of the hooligans who rule the streets.
to have a strong and unreasonable dislike and fear of something, especially of something that is not frightening for most people: · Carol had a phobia about snakes -- even talking about them made her shiver.· She has a phobia about telephone answering machines and will never leave a message.
fear of being in high places · He refused to climb the ladder because of his fear of heights.· She overcame her fear of heights and did a parachute jump for charity.
to feel frightened when you are in high places: · Hiking this trail is not recommended for people who are afraid of heights.· She's so scared of heights we couldn't get her to go parasailing.
formal a feeling that things are moving and that you are going to fall, that you get especially when you are on or in a high place: · Just the thought of standing on the balcony gave her vertigo.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadverbs Rachel had always been scared of heights.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
· By this time I was feeling really scared.
· Some of the children were quite scared.
· I was always a little scared of my father.
verbs· She was beginning to feel a bit scared.
· What’s the matter? You look scared.
(=start to feel scared)· It was now completely dark and I was getting scared.
phrases (=extremely scared)· He looked scared to death.
informal (=extremely scared)· I was scared stiff of going down those cellar steps.
informal (=extremely scared)· She admitted she was scared witless.
(=feel scared, especially because someone might catch you or defeat you)· The opposition were running scared.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· She was too scared to talk.
Rachel had always been scared of heights.· Now most of her contacts were out-of-town businessmen, far more scared of comebacks than she'd ever have to be.· Much more scared by yourself than you would be with me.· And the more scared you are of her, the more perfect she becomes.· I had never seen a man deliberately killed before and I was more scared even than I had been before.· For some reason he was more scared than I was, and I was very frightened.
· He says they're really scared.· I ain't really scared of the dark, not normally, but looking out there, it's a bit scary.· I was really scared, the atmosphere became very stiff but nobody said anything.· Then he came into the bedroom to see me and I got really scared.· I became really scared and then he started walking towards me.
· I guess I had to see you, drawled Jay, because I was so scared of seeing you.· They're not so scared of things as we were.· And he's so scared of ageing that he tries every anti-wrinkle cream available.· She didn't know why she felt so scared.· Why on earth is his Department so scared of answering questions on this subject?· Male speaker I was so scared of spiders.· And why is Washington so scared?· He was so scared that he wasn't even thinking straight.
· His own mum and his Auntie Ethel were sometimes too scared to go out of the house.· There was no one she could discuss it with, for Hoomey was too scared, and no one else knew.· But I was too scared to go out.· Down the pillar of rock, head afire and limbs like ice. Too scared to look down.· My period was a week late but I was too scared to have a test.· He was too scared to be otherwise.· At this point in time the bishop of Tours was apparently too scared to state the truth openly.· It was the pot of white paint that dropped + had fallen on Nutmeg but he had been too scared to notice.
· My third friend was very scared and wanted to go at once, feeling that we were in definite danger from something.· Poor Nutmeg was very scared, he began to run as fast as he could.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► afraid/frightened/scared etc of your own shadow► be scared witless
- Their new software has the competition running scared.
- Then why is it that Chretien appears to be running scared?
- To me, ti just looks like the fools are running scared.
- Whenever managers were laid off, he sensed in the ranks ever-higher levels of anxiety Even those who remained were running scared.
- And I was scared stiff about having lied to Mel about being single when he hired me.
- Cis, who knew about it, was scared stiff.
- He was scared stiff, thought a ghastly mistake had been made.
- He was very naturally scared stiff of using up all his remaining petrol and making a bad landing.
- Mabel was by now scared stiff and frozen cold.
- Poor kid, thought Alice, he's scared stiff.
- We looked at each other, scared stiff, but we followed Mrs Bullivant upstairs.
WORD FAMILYadjectivescaredscarynounscareverbscare
frightened of something, or nervous about something SYN afraid: At first, he was really scared.scared of somebody/something I’ve always been scared of dogs.scared of doing something Don’t be scared of asking for help.scared (that) I wanted to ask her out, but was scared that she might refuse.scared to do something The boys were scared to cross the street.scared stiff/scared to death/scared out of your wits (=extremely frightened) I was scared stiff at the thought of making a speech.► see thesaurus at frightenedRegisterScared is slightly informal. In written English, people usually prefer to use afraid or frightened:· She was afraid of losing Anna in the crowd.COLLOCATIONSadverbsvery/really scared· By this time I was feeling really scared.quite scared· Some of the children were quite scared.a bit/little scared· I was always a little scared of my father.verbsfeel scared· She was beginning to feel a bit scared.look scared· What’s the matter? You look scared.get scared (=start to feel scared)· It was now completely dark and I was getting scared.phrasesscared to death (=extremely scared)· He looked scared to death.scared stiff informal (=extremely scared)· I was scared stiff of going down those cellar steps.scared witless/out of your wits informal (=extremely scared)· She admitted she was scared witless.be running scared (=feel scared, especially because someone might catch you or defeat you)· The opposition were running scared.