scare
n. countablen. a sudden feeling of fear or worry. You use this when something happens that makes you afraid, even if it is only for a short time.
n. a sudden attack of fright or alarm; a period of general anxiety or panic regarding a specific threat.
The loud noise gave me a real scare.
The recent health scare led many people to change their diets and start exercising more regularly.
While the initial market scare caused a brief dip in stock prices, investors quickly regained their confidence once the central bank issued a clarifying statement.
From Middle English sker, skere (“terror, fright”), from the verb Middle English skerren (“to frighten”) (see below).
From Middle English scaren, skaren, scarren, skeren, skerren, from Old Norse skirra (“to frighten; to shrink away from, shun; to prevent, avert”), from Proto-Germanic skirzijaną (“to shoo, scare off”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- (“to swing, jump, move”). Related to Old Norse skjarr (“timid, shy, afraid of”). Cognate with Scots skar (“wild, timid, shy”), dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk skjerra, dialectal Swedish skjarra and possibly Old Armenian ցիռ (cʻiṙ, “wild ass”).
Often used with the verbs 'give' or 'have', and frequently modified by adjectives like 'health', 'bomb', or 'security'.
The movie was a big scare.The movie was very scary.Learners often use the noun 'scare' to describe something frightening, rather than using the adjective 'scary'.