---
title: frighten — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «frighten» in the school dictionary: To frighten means to make someone feel scared. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/frighten/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/) / frighten

# frighten

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, animal, thunder, you, Loud noises, I · **What happens:** frighten, mean, make, feel, scare, go away · **To what, where:** someone, animal, little dog, ducks, baby, I · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«frighten» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [frighten in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/frighten.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To frighten means to make someone feel scared.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:m1:1
# text = To frighten means to make someone feel scared.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	frighten	frighten	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **feel** *not said to happen* | infinitive | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  | scared *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To frighten away or off means to scare an animal or person so they go away.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:m2:1
# text = To frighten away or off means to scare an animal or person so they go away.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	frighten	frighten	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	away	away	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	off	off	ADV	RB	_	3	conj	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	scare	scare	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
13	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
14	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	go	go	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
16	away	away	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **scare** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | a animal or person |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus animal=Experiencer |
| 4 | **go away** | present | animal |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The thunder frightened the little dog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x1:1
# text = The thunder frightened the little dog.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	thunder	thunder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | past | the thunder | the little dog |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus dog=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't run at the ducks; you'll frighten them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x2:1
# text = Don't run at the ducks; you'll frighten them.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	run	run	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ducks	duck	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	frighten	frighten	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
11	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **run** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | at the ducks | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at duck=Trajectory |
| 2 | **frighten** | future | you | ducks *= duck* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus they=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Loud noises frighten our baby.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x3:1
# text = Loud noises frighten our baby.
1	Loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	noises	noise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	frighten	frighten	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | present | Loud noises | our baby |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus baby=Experiencer |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I was frightened of the dark when I was little.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x4:1
# text = I was frightened of the dark when I was little.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | past · passive |  | I |  |  |  | of the dark | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | past | I |  |  |  |  | little *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The scarecrow frightens birds away from the corn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x5:1
# text = The scarecrow frightens birds away from the corn.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	scarecrow	scarecrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	frightens	frighten	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	away	away	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	corn	corn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | present | the scarecrow | birds |  |  |  | away *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus bird=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The spooky story frightened everyone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x6:1
# text = The spooky story frightened everyone.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	spooky	spooky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | participle | the spooky story *not said here* | everyone |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus everyone=Experiencer |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A frightened cat may scratch, so leave it alone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x7:1
# text = A frightened cat may scratch, so leave it alone.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	frightened	frightened	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	scratch	scratch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scratch** | may | a frightened cat |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **leave** | infinitive | a frightened cat *not said here* | cat |  |  |  | alone *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You frightened me, creeping up like that!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x8:1
# text = You frightened me, creeping up like that!
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	creeping	creep	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | past | You | me |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus i=Experiencer |
| 2 | **creep up** | gerund | You *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like that | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"You frighten me," said the rose--tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:frighten:x9:1
# text = "You frighten me," said the rose--tree.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	frighten	frighten	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	rose	rose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	--	--	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** *in a quote* | present | You | the rose and tree *= rose* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus i=Experiencer |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the rose and tree |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [fright](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fright/)
- next →: [frightened](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/frightened/)
- ↑ back to [F in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/)