Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scare off

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.06 in modern English

Syllables: scare off
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To cause (something) to flee by frightening it.

Transitive verb

verb

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"A quick growl scared off the mouse."
"His chief trouble was stray sheep, and he scared most of them off with the draincocks and whistle."
"An unusual custom is followed at Llangennith, when shotguns are fired at a wedding - to scare off evil spirits from the newlyweds."
"The hefty price tag scared off any potential buyers."

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

scares off (present, singular) scaring off (participle, present) scared off (participle, past) scared off (past)

Synonyms

daunt dash pall frighten off scare away frighten away scare

Questions

What does scare off mean?: To cause (something) to flee by frightening it.

How to pronounce scare off

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “scare off”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “scare off”.
Repeat and practice — Say “scare off” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.