AFFRIGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does affright mean? 

• AFFRIGHT (noun)
  The noun AFFRIGHT has 1 sense:

1. an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety

  Familiarity information: AFFRIGHT used as a noun is very rare.

• AFFRIGHT (verb)
  The verb AFFRIGHT has 1 sense:

1. cause fear in

  Familiarity information: AFFRIGHT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AFFRIGHT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

affright; panic; terror

Hypernyms ("affright" is a kind of...):

fear; fearfulness; fright (an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "affright"):

swivet (a panic or extreme discomposure)

Derivation:

affright (cause fear in)

• AFFRIGHT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause fear in

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

affright; fright; frighten; scare

Context example:

Ghosts could never affright her

Hypernyms (to "affright" is one way to...):

excite; shake; shake up; stimulate; stir (stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of)

Cause:

dread; fear (be afraid or scared of; be frightened of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "affright"):

bluff (frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is)

awe (inspire awe in)

terrify; terrorise; terrorize (fill with terror; frighten greatly)

intimidate (make timid or fearful)

alarm; appal; appall; dismay; horrify (fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised)

consternate (fill with anxiety, dread, dismay, or confusion)

spook (frighten or scare, and often provoke into a violent action)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will affright him

Derivation:

affright (an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety)

 Context examples 

Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understood me; but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

I like it not, and I have grave doubts; but I fear to affright her, and so I am silent of it.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Hence, ladies and gentlemen, he added, that frightful brood of saurians which still affright our eyes when seen in the Wealden or in the Solenhofen slates, but which were fortunately extinct long before the first appearance of mankind upon this planet.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For a few moments I gazed with delight on her dark eyes, fringed by deep lashes, and her lovely lips; but presently my rage returned; I remembered that I was for ever deprived of the delights that such beautiful creatures could bestow and that she whose resemblance I contemplated would, in regarding me, have changed that air of divine benignity to one expressive of disgust and affright.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)