frightened

/ˈfraɪtnd/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfraɪtnd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfrī-tᵊnd/ (ame, mw)

frightened — adjective

  • frightenedpositive
  • more frightenedcomparative
  • most frightenedsuperlative

1. experiencing the unpleasant emotion caused when you believe someone or something

1.形容詞B1
釋義

experiencing the unpleasant emotion caused when you believe someone or something may hurt you, or when you are worried that something bad may happen

例句

Kwame has always been frightened of flying, so he takes the train whenever he can.

be frightened of + gerund (fearing an activity)

The little girl was too frightened to go down into the dark basement alone.

too frightened to + infinitive (unable to act)

同義詞
  • afraid

    more general and slightly more common; can be used more flexibly in sentence position ('the afraid child' is not natural, but 'afraid' works in most other positions like 'frightened')

  • scared

    more informal and conversational; preferred in everyday speech over 'frightened'

  • terrified

    much stronger — means extremely frightened; suggests a state of near-panic

  • alarmed

    suggests a sudden, sharp feeling of fear, often because of an unexpected danger or bad news

反義詞
  • brave

    describes a person's character rather than a temporary state; implies ability to face danger without fear

  • calm

    describes a temporary emotional state opposite to the agitation of being frightened

文法句型

be frightened of + noun/gerund

be frightened to + infinitive

be frightened that + clause

be frightened by + noun

be frightened for + someone

用法筆記

Unlike afraid, frightened is not used directly before a noun (*a frightened child is acceptable but the pattern is less common than a child who is frightened). The most common pattern is be frightened of + noun/gerund. Frightened that is used when the cause is a possible event, and frightened for when you worry about someone's safety.

常見錯誤

❌The loud noise made me very scary.
✅The loud noise made me very frightened.
💡'scary' means something causes fear; 'frightened' means you feel the fear.
❌I am frightening of spiders.
✅I am frightened of spiders.
💡'frightening' is an -ing adjective that describes something that causes fear, not the person who feels it.

❌ 'She is afraid to walk home alone, but I am not frightened of anything.' — 'afraid' and 'frightened' are both correct here; the error is using 'frightened of anything' to mean 'frightened by anything' — 'frightened of' is about a specific object of fear, while 'frightened by' is about the trigger.