affright
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)
- an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxietySynonyms: panicterrorType of fear, fearfulnessKinds swivet
Verb (1)affrighted, affrighting
- cause fear in“The stranger who hangs around the building frightens me”“Ghosts could never affright her”Synonyms: frightenfrightscareMore general stimulate, shakeMore specific dismay, intimidate, awe, terrify, consternate, spook, bluff, scare the bejesusCauses fear, dread
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convivialadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Af·fright′ (…), transitive verb [past tense & past participle Affrighted; present participle & verbal noun Affrighting.]
Origin: Orig. p. p.; OE. afright, AS. āfyrhtan to terrify; ā- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-, orig. meaning out) + fyrhto fright. See Fright.
To impress with sudden fear; to frighten; to alarm.
Dreams affright our souls.— William Shakespeare
A drear and dying sound Affrights the flamens at their service quaint.— John Milton
Synonyms: To terrify; frighten; alarm; dismay; appall; scare; startle; daunt; intimidate.
Af·fright′ participial adjective
Affrighted. obsolete Geoffrey Chaucer
Af·fright′ noun
1. Sudden and great fear; terror. It expresses a stronger impression than fear, or apprehension, perhaps less than terror.
He looks behind him with affright, and forward with despair.— Oliver Goldsmith
2. The act of frightening; also, a cause of terror; an object of dread. Ben Jonson
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54