4
STRANGE THINGS AND EVENTS
frightened of something or someone
/rigktened fraitnd/ [adj] 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. No-one's going to hurt you. I Two frightened children were hiding in a corner of the room. + оf A lot of people are frightened of dentists. I Are you frightened of the dark?
frightened of doing sth He was frightened of making mistakes. + that I was frightened that my parents would get divorced.
A Don't confuse frightened (=feeling
afraid) and frightening (=making you feel afraid). Don't say 'I am frightening' when you mean 'I am frightened'.
afraid afreid [cdj not before noun) frightened
+ of He had a terrible temper, and everyone was afraid of him. afraid of doing sth / c/ic/n't tell anyone because I was afraid of being punished. (=1 thought I might be punished if 1 told anyone)
+ (that) Kerry was afraid that he was going to hit her.
Ж Afraid means the same as frightened/ but afraid is always followed by 0f, that/ or the infinitive (to + verb), except in negative sentences like 'Don't be afraid' and 'I'm not afraid'.
Q sea red /skeard/ (adj not before noun] especially spoken frightened: The first time I went on a motorcycle I was really scared.
+ of She's always been scared of spiders. scared of doing sth I think they were all scared of offending him. (=they thought they might offend him) + that / hate reading out my work in class - I'm scared that people are going
to laugh at me.
seared stiff/scared to death (=very scared) When he came back he looked scared stiff, as if he'd seen a ghost.
terrified "ter^faid/ [adj] extremely frightened: At first, Anna was too terrified to speak. I the terrified faces of the refugees
+ of He's absolutely terrified of snakes. + (that) / was terrified that my father would find out I had lied to him. terrified of doing sth She's never been outside the US-she's terrified of flying.
Д Don't say 'very terrified'. Say
absolutely terrified •
dread /dredI [и T] to feel worried and
frightened about something that you have
to do, or about something that you know is going to happen: I have to go to the dentist's tomorrow, and I'm dreading it. dread doing sth I dreaded having to tell Sam his dog had died.
when you do not want to do something because you are frightened
be afraid/be friqhtenedlbe scared
/bi: 3'freid, bi: fraitnd, bi: ske3rd/ to be unwilling to do something because you are frightened about what may happen if you do it
+ to do sth. Many old people are afraid to go out at night.
+ of doing sth She asked me to come with her because she was scared of going there on her own. I He's frightened of flying in case there's a bomb on the plane.
A Be scared is more informal than be afraid or be frightened.
suddenly frightened
get a fright /.get э 'frait, to be suddenly frightened by something that happens: She got a terrible fright when the dog jumped out at her.
get the /right of your life informal (=be
suddenly very frightened) I got the fright of my life when he suddenly spoke from out of the darkness.
panic /'ржшк/ I] if you panic in a dangerous situation, you start behaving in a way that is not sensible, because you are very frightened and you cannot think clearly: Keep calm and don't panic, I As the fire raged through the ship, some passengers panicked and jumped into the sea.
panicking - panicked - have panicked
something that makes you frightened
/rigfltening /'fraitniq/ [adj] something that is frightening makes you feel frightened: It was the most frightening experience of my life. 1 Driving in big cities can be pretty frightening for many people.
terri
ing:
gun. It was terrifying, i There was a terrifying crash, and the house seemed to shake
A Don't say 'very terrifying'. just say terrifying.
Qscary ske<m/ [adj] especially spoken frightening - use this especially about stories, films, or situations in which strange and frightening things happen: She didn't like the film. It was too scary for her. I I had a really scary dream last night. I a big scary monster scary - scarier - scariest
spooky /'spuiki; [adj] informal a place that
is spooky is strange or frightening because it makes you think of ghosts: The hotel was kind of spooky - big, dark, and empty.
a film or story that is intended to make you frightened
horror /'hDry||'to:-, ha:-/ \adj only before noun] horror film/movie/story/video
a film or story that is intended to make you feel frightened: The movie is based on a horror story by Stephen King.
thriller /'Oribr/ [n CI a film or book that is intended to be exciting and frightening because you do not know what will happen next: 'Psycho' is Hitchcock s greatest psychological thriller.
to make someone feel frightened
frighten fraitn [и T) to make someone feel frightened: Don't shout like that you'll frighten the baby. I I don't care how tough he is - he doesn't frighten me.
frighten sb into doing sth (=make someone do something by frightening them) Their lawyers tried to frighten us into signing the contract. frighten sb ojff/frighten off sb (=frighten someone so that they go away or stop trying to do something) The man pulled out a gun and managed to frighten off
ifying /'ter^fai-ir)/ [adj] very frighten- : I hey stopped me, and they had a
FRIGHTENING/FRIGHTENED 308
his attackers.
Qscare /ske3r/ lV T] ESPECIALLY SPOKEN to