Definition

Verb (transitive) To cause someone or something to retreat, withdraw, or be deterred by inducing fear or anxiety. It means to scare away or discourage from proceeding with an action or intention.

Usage

This verb is used to describe the act of using fear or intimidation to stop someone from doing something or to drive something away. It typically involves an agent (the thing or person causing the fear) and a target (the person or animal being scared away). It is often used in contexts involving threats, warnings, or intimidating behavior.

Examples

• The loud alarm was enough to frighten off the intruders.
• The company's aggressive legal threats frightened off potential competitors.
• She tried to frighten off the stray dogs by shouting and waving her arms.
• High startup costs can frighten off new entrepreneurs.

Advanced Usage

• The phrasal verb is often used in passive constructions: "Investors were frightened off by the market's volatility."
• It can describe deterring abstract concepts like interest or support: "The scandal frightened off public support for the policy."

Variants and Related Words

• Frighten away: A direct synonym with identical meaning and usage. (e.g., "The scarecrow is meant to frighten away birds.")
• Scare off: A more informal synonym. (e.g., "Don't let one bad review scare you off.")
• Deter: A more formal synonym meaning to discourage or prevent from acting.
• Daunt: To make someone feel intimidated or apprehensive.

Synonyms

Scare away, deter, discourage, intimidate, daunt, repel.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Back off: To withdraw or retreat, often due to intimidation or threat. While "frighten off" is what the agent does, "back off" is what the target does. (e.g., "He backed off when he saw the guard dog.")
• Drive away/off: To force someone or something to leave, which can be achieved by frightening them. (e.g., "The shepherd's dog drove off the wolves.")

Related Idioms

• To scare the living daylights out of someone: An informal idiom meaning to frighten someone very much, which could cause them to be frightened off. (e.g., "That horror movie scared the living daylights out of me.")
• To get cold feet: To suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned to do. This describes the state of the person who has been effectively "frightened off." (e.g., "He got cold feet and canceled the deal at the last minute.")

Verb

1. cause to lose courage
   • dashed by the refusal