frighten the life out of someone

verb

To frighten someone very much.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbfrighten the life out of someone (third-person singular simple present frightens the life out of someone, present participle frightening the life out of someone, simple past and past participle frightened the life out of someone)

present singular third person frightens the life out of someone · participle present frightening the life out of someone · participle past frightened the life out of someone · past frightened the life out of someone

  1. To frighten someone very much.
Cite this entry
APA

frighten the life out of someone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frighten%20the%20life%20out%20of%20someone

MLA

“frighten the life out of someone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frighten%20the%20life%20out%20of%20someone. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frighten the life out of someone,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frighten%20the%20life%20out%20of%20someone.

Source: frighten the life out of someone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.