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John Aki Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Grammar help please?

Hi,

Can you confirm me that scare and frighten are pretty much same meaning in English, please?

My dictionary describe they are same...


The ghost story scared/frightened me, I was scared/frightened by the ghost story.

The car alarm scared/frightened the burglar away.


Cheers.

  

Top answer

John Aki Can you confirm me that scare and frighten are pretty much same meaning in English, please? Pretty much, but there are differences in nuance and usage. Off the top of my head, I would say that "frighten" is more of a one-time occurrence, and "scare" can be that but also a more lasting effect.

— Anonymous

  • John Aki Can you confirm me that scare and frighten are pretty much same meaning in English, please?
  • Pretty much, but there are differences in nuance and usage.
  • Off the top of my head, I would say that "frighten" is more of a one-time occurrence, and "scare" can be that but also a more lasting effect.
  • John Aki The ghost story scared/frightened me, "Scared" is more likely.
  • The sudden appearance of the zombie in the story might frighten you, but "frighten" is perhaps too immediate for the whole story.
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3 Answers
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John AkiCan you confirm me that scare and frighten are pretty much same meaning in English, please?

Pretty much, but there are differences in nuance and usage. Off the top of my head, I would say that "frighten" is more of a one-time occurrence, and "scare" can be that but also a more lasting effect.

John AkiThe ghost story scare
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Yes, I would say that the two words pretty much mean the same. Both of them are used correctly in all the examples you have quoted.

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It's possible to argue a very slight difference in some cases, and certainly we would use one over the other in certain scenarios, but they are, essentially, the same.

If you use 'frightened', it tends to be about something with a sudden impact. It's also not very common to use 'frightened of'.

However, they are essentially interchangeable.

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