scared S3 / skeəd $ skerd / 形容词

frightened of something, or nervous about something 同义词 afraid :

At first, he was really scared.

scared of (doing) something

I’ve always been scared of dogs.

Don’t be scared of asking for help.

scared (that)

I wanted to ask her out, but was scared that she might refuse.

scared to do something

The boys were scared to cross the street.

scared stiff/scared to death/scared out of your wits (= extremely frightened )

I was scared stiff at the thought of making a speech.

Register

Scared is slightly informal. In written English, people usually prefer to use afraid or frightened :

Many generations have been afraid of nuclear power.

COLLOCATIONS

副词

very/really scared By this time I was feeling really scared.

quite scared Some of the children were quite scared.

a bit/little scared I was always a little scared of my father.

动词

feel scared She was beginning to feel a bit scared.

look scared What’s the matter? You look scared.

get scared (= start to feel scared ) It was now completely dark and I was getting scared.

短语

scared to death (= extremely scared ) He looked scared to death.

scared stiff informal (= extremely scared ) I was scared stiff of going down those cellar steps.

scared witless/out of your wits informal (= extremely scared ) She admitted she was scared witless.

be running scared (= feel scared, especially because someone might catch you or defeat you ) The opposition were running scared.

THESAURUS

frightened feeling worried because you might get hurt or because something bad might happen : I was too frightened to say anything. | Many animals are frightened of fireworks. | Frightened residents called the police as the gang started throwing bricks.

scared [名词前不用] especially spoken frightened. Scared is less formal than frightened and is the usual word to use in everyday English : I’m scared of dogs. | Old people are too scared to go out of their homes.

afraid [名词前不用] frightened. Afraid sounds more formal than frightened or scared : Children are often afraid of the dark. | I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing.

alarmed frightened and worried that something bad might happen : She was alarmed at the thought of performing in front of an audience. | Alarmed passengers spotted fuel leaking from the plane.

fearful formal frightened that something bad might happen : They are fearful of another terrorist attack. | He was fearful that he might make another mistake. | a fearful panic