Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To arouse fear in; terrify.
  • noun Great fear; terror.
  • noun A cause of terror.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Past participle of affright.
  • To impress with sudden fear; frighten; terrify or alarm.
  • Synonyms To scare, alarm, dismay, appal, daunt, intimidate, startle, shock, overawe.
  • noun Sudden or great fear; terror; fright.
  • noun The cause of terror; a frightful object.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Affrighted.
  • noun Sudden and great fear; terror. It expresses a stronger impression than fear, or apprehension, perhaps less than terror.
  • noun The act of frightening; also, a cause of terror; an object of dread.
  • transitive verb To impress with sudden fear; to frighten; to alarm.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun great fear, terror, fright
  • verb to terrify, to frighten, to inspire fright

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cause fear in
  • noun an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan : ā-, intensive pref. + fyrhtan, to frighten (from fyrhto, fright).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan, from ā- + fyrhtan (to frighten), from fyrhto (fright).

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Examples

  • Now meanwhile, Zurayk dreamt that he saw a bird fly away with the purse and awaking in affright, said to his wife, “Rise; look for the purse.”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • The Misbelievers at this cry awoke in affright and snatching up their arms, fell one upon other till the morning, when most part of them were dead bodies and but few remained.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • When I heard these words, I said to him, ‘O lion, I take asylum with thee, that thou mayest kill the son of Adam and be steadfast in resolve to his slaughter; verily I fear him for myself with extreme fear and to my fright affright is added for that thou also dreadest the son of Adam, albeit thou art Sultan of savage beasts.’

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • And the day of mine affright is the day you turn away:

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • He shook her, and she awoke in affright and asked, “What dost thou want?”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • Then sleep overcame him, but presently he awoke in affright and cried out, saying, Help, O Arabs!

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • So she dismounted and gave him a cuff,6 whereupon he awoke in affright and said to her, “O m lady, praised be Allah for thy safe coming!”

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • Suddenly the horse swerved to one side, in affright as the electric fluid darted in a quivering, yellow line from the black clouds, lighting up the landscape, and showing the anxious rider that he was near the turnpike road which led to the main street.

    Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest Pauline Elizabeth 1902

  • And the day of mine affright is the day you turn away.

    The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton William Henry Burton Wilkins 1897

  • The noise suddenly awoke Helen, and her scattered faculties not immediately recollecting themselves, she felt an instant impression that all had indeed been but a dream; and starting in affright, she exclaimed, – Where am I?

    The Scottish Chiefs 1875

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