befright

To fill with fright; make afraid; scare; frighten

Verb

  1. To fill with fright; make afraid; scare; frighten
    • […] I would so near this knot to certainty, That its appearance shall befright the bride, Until, despairing, she shall say the wish To be a nymph again; then should she know me? - 1881, James Alexander Wickersham, Aliso...
    • For ourselves till befright, an' till show his oul' spite, Whin he'd miss'd all the prachis he'd cum for, so far Himself, the untutor'd oul' haythen, beschuterd Us, ears over head all with boilin'-hot tar. - 1884,...
    • […]With confidence, and so inscribe the chart Where white and still the void befrights the heart. - 1983, Gerald St. Maur, Occasional Publication, numbers 18-32, page 7:

Origin

From be- + fright. Compare German befürchten (“to be afraid of; fear”).

Forms

befrights befrighting befrighted