scare the shit out of

verb

To make someone scared shitless.

“That scared the shit out of me!”

Similar
give someone the shitsscare the hell out ofalarmaffrightappalldismayfrayfrighten
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Meanings

verbscare the shit out of (third-person singular simple present scares the shit out of, present participle scaring the shit out of, simple past and past participle scared the shit out of)

present singular third person scares the shit out of · participle present scaring the shit out of · participle past scared the shit out of · past scared the shit out of

  1. slangvulgarTo make someone scared shitless.

    That scared the shit out of me!

    1 more example

    And he says, ‘we'll call you back soon, real soon, so get your ducks in a row’ and that scares the shit out of the corporate muckity-mucks.

    1991, Winn Schwartau, Terminal Compromise

    Synonyms: give someone the shits, scare the hell out of, alarm, affright, appall, dismay, fray, frighten

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make someone scared shitless.

Similar
give someone the shitsscare the hell out ofalarmaffrightappalldismayfrayfrightengrillgive someone the shitsharrowhorrifymake someone's blood run coldmortifypetrifyscarescare straightscare the bejeebers out ofscare the hell out ofscare the pants off of
Also see
affrightfrightengive someone the shitsgrillmortifypetrifyscare the hell out ofscare the life out of
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: scare the shit out of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.