affright

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /əˈfraɪt/ UK /əˈfraɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to frighten or alarm; sudden terror

The ghostly wail affrighted the weary travelers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to frighten or alarm;... frighten terrify alarm scare startle dismay appall

Opposites

reassure calm comfort soothe

Word family

Derived forms affrightedaffrightment

Related forms fright frighten afraid

Etymology

From Middle English afright, from Old English afyrht ('frightened'), past participle of afyrhtan ('to terrify'), from a- (intensive) + fyrhtan ('to frighten'), from fyrhto ('fright, fear').

afyrhtan Old English fyrhto Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# affright

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /əˈfraɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈfraɪt/

## Meanings
1. to frighten or alarm; sudden terror

## Examples
- The ghostly wail affrighted the weary travelers.

## Synonyms
- frighten
- terrify
- alarm
- scare
- startle
- dismay
- appall

## Antonyms
- reassure
- calm
- comfort
- soothe

## Derived Forms
- affrighted
- affrightment

## Related Forms
- fright
- frighten
- afraid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: afyrhtan
- Root: fyrhto

## Etymology
From Middle English afright, from Old English afyrht ('frightened'), past participle of afyrhtan ('to terrify'), from a- (intensive) + fyrhtan ('to frighten'), from fyrhto ('fright, fear').

## AI Etymology
Affright is from Middle English afright, from Old English afyrht ('frightened'), past participle of afyrhtan ('to terrify'), from a- (intensive) + fyrhtan ('to frighten'), from fyrhto ('fright, fear'). In present-day use, it means to frighten or alarm; sudden terror. Derived formations include affrighted and affrightment. Related vocabulary includes fright, frighten, and afraid.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown