FRIGHT

fright |frīt| noun 1 a sudden intense feeling of fear : I jumped up in fright. • an experience that causes one to feel sudden intense fear : she's had a nasty fright | I got the fright of my life seeing that woman in the hotel. 2 a person or thing looking grotesque or ridiculous. verb [ trans. ] archaic frighten : come, be comforted, he shan't fright you. PHRASES look a fright informal have a disheveled or grotesque appearance. take fright suddenly become frightened or panicked. ORIGIN Old English fryhto, fyrhto (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch furcht and German Furcht.