adjective
scary
Causing fear.
The strange noises in the basement sound scary at night.
Etymology
The frightening verb takes -y to describe a characteristic. Something scary is capable of producing the fear felt by someone who is scared.
More examples
- She tells a scary story around the campfire.
- Waiting for the test results is scarier than I expect.
- That is the scariest movie I have ever seen.
Forms
scary · scarier · scariest
scare verb — To cause someone to feel fear.
Similar words
- frightening
- Means causing fear, but is less informal than scary.
- terrifying
- Indicates much stronger fear than something that is merely scary.
- creepy
- Suggests an unsettling strangeness rather than direct danger or terror.