scare away/off

phrasal verb

scared away/off; scaring away/off; scares away/off

: to cause (someone or something) to go away and stay away because of fear or because of possible trouble, difficulty, etc.

The dog scared the prowler away.

The noise scared off the birds.

Tourists have been scared off by the recent violence in the city.

Examples of scare away/off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Neighbors said the man eventually spotted the coyote and yelled to scare away the stalker. —

Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2024 Some farmers went as far as installing sound cannons, loud alarms that scare off virus-laden wild birds that threatened to infect their poultry. —

Raj Panjabi, TIME, 11 June 2024 Six Southern Republican governors warned last week that unionizing will scare away automakers, but that's unlikely, consultant Fabian Brandt told The Wall Street Journal. —

Peter Weber, theweek, 22 Apr. 2024 The creativity of Detroiters takes center stage with eccentric garb aimed to scare away any sightings of the evil hobgoblin. —

Amelia Benavides-Colón, Detroit Free Press, 21 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for scare away/off

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scare away/off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“Scare away/off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scare%20away%2Foff. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

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