# fright vs frighten

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### fright
*noun · IPA /fɹaɪt/ · frequency rank #19,603*
A state of terror excited by the sudden appearance of danger; sudden and violent fear, usually of short duration; a sudden alarm.

### frighten
*verb · IPA /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/ · frequency rank #26,092*
To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fright-vs-frighten