Phrasal verb
frighten away
Definition
phrasal verb. to make a person or animal feel afraid so that they leave or stay far from you.
phrasal verb. to cause a person or animal to depart or avoid a location through the use of fear or intimidation; a transitive phrasal verb often used in the context of deterring unwanted visitors or wildlife.
Examples
“The loud dog will frighten away any burglars.”
“If you make too much noise while walking through the woods, you will frighten away the birds.”
“The sudden implementation of aggressive tax laws served only to frighten away potential foreign investors who were previously keen on the market.”
Examples
simple
“The loud dog will frighten away any burglars.”
contextual
“If you make too much noise while walking through the woods, you will frighten away the birds.”
complex
“The sudden implementation of aggressive tax laws served only to frighten away potential foreign investors who were previously keen on the market.”
Usage
this phrase is separable, meaning the object can go between 'frighten' and 'away'.
Teaching tip
compare with 'scare off', which is more common in informal speech; 'frighten away' is slightly more formal but functions identically.
Pitfall
The noise frightened away them.
The noise frightened them away.
when the object is a pronoun like 'them', it must go between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
away
Separability
optional
Pattern
frighten + object + away
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/frighten-away