the bejesus

noun

informal
used for emphasis after words like scare, frighten, and beat
That movie scared the bejesus out of me.
They beat the bejesus out of the other team.

Examples of the bejesus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Zoom in: Just about every neighborhood in RVA has a house where locals went all out to scare the bejesus out of you, or just offer some whimsical holiday fun (like an alien invasion). Karri Peifer, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024 If reading this book inspired by a true story of a child possessed by demons doesn’t scare the bejesus out of you, nothing will. Sharon Virts, People.com, 5 Oct. 2024 The unachievable ideal of, say, a 95% voter turnout in any election would scare the bejesus out of practically everyone in political power. Jay Reddick, Orlando Sentinel, 13 June 2024 The Redondo Beach Pier, first built in 1888 as a lumber wharf, burned spectacularly in 1988, perhaps from an electrical short from damage by two immense storms that had just beaten the bejesus out of the place. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024 Anger is at the core of this knockabout take on the sports movie, with Sandler's titular would-be hockey star turning to golf to make bankable use of his undeniable skills in beating the bejesus out of things with a stick. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near the bejesus

Cite this Entry

“The bejesus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20bejesus. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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