These words all mean to make sb afraid. 以上各词均含使害怕、使恐惧之义。

• frighten to make sb feel afraid, often suddenly 指（常突如其来地）使惊吓、使惊恐：◆He brought out a gun and frightened them off. 他掏出一把枪，把他们吓跑了。
• scare to make sb feel afraid 指使害怕、使恐惧：◆They managed to scare the bears away. 他们设法把那些熊吓跑了。
• alarm to make sb anxious or afraid 指使惊恐、使害怕、使担心：◆It alarms me that nobody takes this problem seriously. 谁都不认真对待这个问题，我非常担心。 NOTE Alarm is used when sb has a feeling that sth unpleasant or dangerous might happen in the future; the feeling is often more one of worry than actual fear. * alarm 指令人担心不好的事情或危险可能发生，多为忧虑而非真的害怕。
• terrify to make sb feel extremely afraid 指使恐惧、使十分害怕、使惊吓：◆Flying terrified her. 她害怕坐飞机。

frighten or scare? 用 frighten 还是 scare？

• Scare is slightly more informal than frighten. * scare 较 frighten 稍非正式。

Patterns

• to frighten/scare sb/sth away/off
• to frighten/scare/terrify sb into doing sth
• It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me that…
• It frightens/scares/alarms/terrifies me to think, see, etc.