Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Scare for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Scare" — verb, pronounced /skeə(r)/, with the stress on "scare".
Narrator: To scare is to frighten someone, or to become frightened.
Narrator: In plain English, it means make afraid.
Narrator: It comes from Old Norse skirra, to frighten.
Narrator: A common collocation is "scared stiff", which describes being so afraid you cannot move.
Narrator: It differs from "terrify", because terrify is much stronger.
Narrator: In a second sense, a health scare is a sudden worry about something dangerous.
Narrator: Film, parenting, news and psychology all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: to scare is to make afraid.
Speaker A: Why did you jump?
Speaker B: The cat SCARED me! It comes from Old Norse skirra.
Speaker A: From behind the curtain?
Speaker B: Out of nowhere.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "Don't scare the baby", parenting. "I'm scared of spiders", fears. "There was a food scare", news.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Say "scared of" something, not "scared from" it.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Frighten is its cousin, startle its twin, and spook an alternative — yet scare keeps its shivery charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "scare" in AI prompts — useful for game design and health messaging.
Speaker A: How for games?
Speaker B: Jump scares.
Prompt: Design a gentle jump scare for a family-friendly haunted house game.
Speaker A: And health?
Speaker B: Calm tone.
Prompt: Rewrite this health warning so it informs without trying to scare readers.
Speaker A: Could it help parenting?
Speaker B: Yes, for fears.
Prompt: Suggest ways to help a child who is scared of the dark.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Fiction.
Prompt: Write a short, spooky opening line that scares but suits ten-year-olds.
Scare — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary