fright
UK: fraɪt | US: fraɪt
n. a sudden intense feeling of fear
n. something that causes fear or alarm
The word "fright" originates from Old English fyrhto, meaning "fear" or "dread," which is derived from Proto-Germanic furhtiz. The root frigh- is related to the verb "frighten," both sharing the core idea of sudden fear. The final -t is a vestigial suffix from Old English noun endings. Over time, the spelling simplified to "fright," but the morpheme frigh- retains its original semantic link to fear.
She let out a scream of fright when the spider crawled onto her hand.
The horror movie was full of jumps and frights.
The loud thunder gave the dog a terrible fright.
His face turned pale with fright at the sight of the ghost.
The haunted house attraction is designed to deliver harmless frights.