put the fear of God into somebody

put the fear of God into (one)

To cause one to greatly fear the potential consequences of something, such as misbehavior, typically by threats or a graphic description of such consequences. Our chemistry teacher has put the fear of God into us about fooling around near the chemicals and acids.See also: fear, god, of, put

put the fear of ˈGod into somebody

(informal) frighten somebody very much, especially in order to force them to do what you want: The first thing that happens when you go into the army is that they put the fear of God into you.See also: fear, god, of, put, somebody