SCARIFYING Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

scarifying

verb

present participle of scarify

as in frightening

to strike with fear that foolish woman would be scarified by a mouse

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for scarifying

Verb

Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.

— Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.

— Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

Definition of frightening

Verb

Be a menace to people in the community, driving his boat 70 to 80 miles per hour, driving around scaring the heck out of people, taking people's lives.

— Lauren Victory, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Notably, the research shows that pumas contribute most to decreased deer-vehicle collisions by scaring their prey, and not killing them, highlights Mark Elbroch, director of the Puma Program for Panthera and also a study co-author.

— Margherita Bassi, Popular Science, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of scaring

Verb

What for decades seemed a hypothetical problem to be solved at some later date is suddenly a concrete, terrifying one for today.

— Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
And there was Erling Haaland living his best Norwegian life, terrifying on the pitch and absurd off it, multiplying his stardom with a flamboyance and humor that didn’t detract from his serious talent.

— Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 20 July 2026

Definition of terrifying

Verb

Last week, an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight-demonstration team, zoomed dangerously low along the Florida coast, stirring up sand and umbrellas, startling some beachgoers—and, it must be said, delighting many others.

— Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
Cortlandt Koerwitz/Instagram A family's Fourth of July outing took a frightening turn when a bear charged at a father outside his Lake Tahoe vacation home after startling his daughters.

— Shafiq Najib, ABC News, 9 July 2026

Definition of startling

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scarify

scarifying

scariness

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“Scarifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scarifying. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of scarifying

verb

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