Meaning & use

scary

adjective·Everyday

Causing fear or fright.

See it in a sentence

The abandoned house looked scary at night, with broken windows and creaking doors.

It was scary to think how close the car had come to hitting them.

A note on using this word

Scary is an informal, everyday word; more formal alternatives like frightening or alarming are preferred in academic or professional writing.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

reassuringcomforting

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