Meanings
present singular third person scares off · participle present scaring off · participle past scared off · past scared off
- transitiveTo cause (something) to flee by frightening it.
A quick growl scared off the mouse.
2 more examples
His chief trouble was stray sheep, and he scared most of them off with the draincocks and whistle.
1949 November and December, K. Longbottom, “By Goods Train to Gweedore”, in Railway Magazine, page 356An unusual custom is followed at Llangennith, when shotguns are fired at a wedding - to scare off evil spirits from the newlyweds.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 258
Synonyms & antonyms
verbcause to lose courage; to be daunted; to be scared away
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
German verscheuchen
- verscheuchento cause something to flee by frightening it
Hungarian elriaszt
- elriasztto deter
Polish odstraszać, odstraszyć
- odstraszaćto cause something to flee by frightening it
- odstraszyćto cause something to flee by frightening it
- odstraszaćto deter
- odstraszyćto deter
Russian отпу́гивать, отпугну́ть
- отпу́гивать (otpúgivatʹ)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- отпугну́ть (otpugnútʹ)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- спу́гивать (spúgivatʹ)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- спугну́ть (spugnútʹ)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- отпу́гивать (otpúgivatʹ)to deter
- отпугну́ть (otpugnútʹ)to deter
Spanish espantar, aspaventar
- espantarto cause something to flee by frightening it
- aspaventarto cause something to flee by frightening it
- ahuyentarto cause something to flee by frightening it
- zalearto cause something to flee by frightening it
- amontarto cause something to flee by frightening it
- espantarto deter
- ahuyentarto deter
Swedish skrämma bort, skrämma iväg
- skrämma bortto cause something to flee by frightening it
- skrämma ivägto cause something to flee by frightening it
- skrämma bortto deter
- skrämma ivägto deter
Turkish ürkütmek
- ürkütmekto cause something to flee by frightening it
Ukrainian відля́кувати, відляка́ти
- відля́кувати (vidljákuvaty)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- відляка́ти (vidljakáty)to cause something to flee by frightening it
- відля́кувати (vidljákuvaty)to deter
- відляка́ти (vidljakáty)to deter
Welsh tarfu
- tarfuto cause something to flee by frightening it
Cite this entry
scare off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20off
“scare off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20off. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scare off,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20off.
Source: scare off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.