Thesaurus
scary
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of SCARY
1
causing fear <a scary movie that gave the child nightmares for weeks afterwards>
Synonyms alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, shocking, spine-chilling, terrible, terrifying
Related Words daunting, demoralizing, disconcerting, discouraging, dismaying, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, startling, threatening, troubling, trying, unnerving; bone-chilling, creepy, eerie (also eery), weird; appalling, atrocious, awful, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), hideous, horrid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish
Near Antonyms calming, comforting, consoling, inviting, lulling, pacifying, quieting, reassuring, relaxing, soothing, tranquilizing (also tranquillizing); nonintimidating, nonthreatening
2
easily frightened <a scary horse who spooked and kicked at its own shadow>
Synonyms fainthearted, fearful, fearsome, mousy (or mousey), scary, skittish, timid, timorous, tremulous
Related Words chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, cowardly, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, pusillanimous, spineless, unheroic, yellow; jittery, jumpy, spooky; anxious, apprehensive, nervous; afraid, alarmed, horrified, panicked, panicky, panic-stricken, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved
Near Antonyms brave, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, undaunted, valiant, valorous; assured, confident, self-assured, self-confident; determined, firm, game, plucky, resolute, undeterred, unflinching, unswerving; mettlesome, spirited, spunky
Antonyms adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, bold, daring, dashing, gutsy, hardy, venturesome, venturous
3
filled with fear or dread <I got a little scary when I heard the noise in the basement>
Synonyms affrighted, aghast, alarmed, fearful, frightened, horrified, horror-struck, hysterical (also hysteric), scared, scary, shocked, spooked, terrified, terrorized
Related Words chicken, fainthearted, fearsome, shrinking, shy, timid, timorous, tremulant, tremulous; agitated, anxious, apprehensive, disconcerted, disquieted, disturbed, funky, jittery, jumpy, nervous, panicked, panicky, panic-stricken, perturbed, skittish, uneasy, upset, worried; phobic; appalled, dismayed, startled; cowed, daunted, intimidated, unnerved; coward, cowardly, craven, gutless, lily-livered, pusillanimous; careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, unadventurous, wary
Near Antonyms adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, bold, daredevil, daring, dashing, gutsy, plucky, spirited, spunky, venturesome, venturous; brave, courageous, gallant, hardy, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, manful, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, valiant, valorous; assured, collected, composed, confident, cool, sanguine, sure, unperturbed; dauntless, resolute, undaunted
Seen & Heard
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