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scared of
/skɛərd ɒv/
afraid of
She is scared of spiders.
She feels fear when she sees spiders.
informal
To feel fear or anxiety about something or someone
He is scared of the dark.
He feels afraid when it's dark.
Many people are scared of public speaking.
Many people feel nervous or anxious about speaking in front of others.
This phrase is commonly used in everyday conversation to express fear or anxiety about a specific thing or situation.
Collocations
scared of the darkafraid of darknessscared of heightsafraid of being in high placesscared of failureafraid of not succeeding
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Common Usage
This phrase is often used with specific nouns or situations that cause fear, such as 'scared of dogs' or 'scared of flying'.
Gold Rule
Correct Usage
Use 'scared of' to describe a feeling of fear about something specific, not a general state of fear.
Word Origin
The phrase 'scared of' combines the past participle 'scared' (from the verb 'scare') and the preposition 'of', indicating the source of fear.
Usage Notes
This phrase is commonly used in informal contexts to describe a feeling of fear or anxiety about a specific thing or situation. It is often used with nouns or noun phrases that describe the source of the fear.
Word Breakdown
scared
past participle of 'scare'
rootof
indicates the source or cause
prepositionEnglish Dictionary