Synonyms frighten
frighten
scare ▪ alarm ▪ terrify
These words all mean to make somebody afraid.
frighten to make somebody feel afraid, often suddenly:
He brought out a gun and frightened them off.
scare to make somebody feel afraid:
They managed to scare the bears away.
alarm to make somebody anxious or afraid:
It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously.
Alarm is used when somebody has a feeling that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear.
terrify to make somebody feel extremely afraid:
Flying terrified her.
frighten or scare?
Scare is slightly more informal than frighten.
Patterns
to frighten/scare somebody/something away/off
to frighten/scare/terrify somebody into doing something
It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me that…
It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me to think, see, etc.