scare
scare — verb
1. to cause someone or an animal to experience sudden fear, making them feel alarme
to cause someone or an animal to experience sudden fear, making them feel alarmed or worried
A loud thunderclap scared Léa's dog so badly that it hid under the sofa.
transitive: scare + object
Adaeze was scared by the shadows moving outside her bedroom window late at night.
passive: be scared by
Niran does not scare easily, but the horror film made him jump several times.
The company tried to scare employees into accepting the new contract by threatening layoffs.
The thought of losing her job scared Tamar enough to start looking for new work.
文法句型
scare + object
scare + object + into + doing something
not scare easily
be scared by/of
用法筆記
Frequently used in the passive (be scared by/of something). The intransitive pattern 'not scare easily' describes a person's general character rather than a single event.
常見錯誤
scare — noun
1. the feeling you get when something unexpected and frightening happens
the feeling you get when something unexpected and frightening happens
Rin got a real scare when she thought she lost her passport at the airport.
collocation: get a scare
Tamás gave his mother quite a scare by coming home three hours late.
collocation: give someone a scare
Vinícius had a health scare when a scan found an unusual spot on his lung.
A small fire in the kitchen bin gave everyone in the flat a nasty scare.
文法句型
get/have a scare
give someone a scare
用法筆記
Typically used with 'get', 'have', or 'give' + object. 'A scare' is almost always a singular countable noun in this sense — 'scares' (plural) is rare and refers to multiple separate frightening moments.
常見錯誤
2. a situation in which a lot of people become worried about something that may be
a situation in which a lot of people become worried about something that may be dangerous, often based on news reports and sometimes without real risk
A bomb scare at the station was only a forgotten suitcase, but police closed the area.
collocation: bomb scare
A virus health scare spread on social media before officials confirmed any cases.
collocation: health scare
The food scare made parents throw away baby milk powder, though tests showed no risk.
During the security scare, every bag entering the stadium was searched by guards.
文法句型
bomb scare
health scare
food scare
scare about/over
用法筆記
Often followed by 'about' or 'over' to specify the subject (e.g. 'a scare over food safety'). Frequently appears in news headlines and may later be described as 'a false alarm' if no danger existed.
常見錯誤
❌ 'The bomb scare was very scary for me personally.' — For a public scare, the focus is on collective worry; for a personal feeling, use sense 1 (a scare) instead.