Fear is one of our most primal emotions, and our language reflects this with a rich variety of expressions. Whether you’re feeling slightly nervous or completely terrified, English offers countless ways to express these feelings.

This blog post explores 40 common idioms used to describe being scared, helping you expand your vocabulary and better express yourself in conversations and writing.

Understanding Fear Idioms

Idioms are colorful expressions whose meanings cannot be understood from the individual words alone. The idioms for fear range from mild apprehension to paralyzing terror, giving us nuanced ways to describe our feelings. Learning these expressions will not only improve your English fluency but also help you connect with others when discussing frightening situations.

40 Common Idioms for Being Scared

Get Cold Feet

Meaning: To become nervous or fearful about doing something you had planned or committed to, often resulting in backing out.
Example: “John got cold feet just before proposing and decided to wait another month.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Lose one’s nerve, back out, chicken out

Have Butterflies in Your Stomach

Meaning: To feel nervous excitement, typically before an important event.
Example: “She had butterflies in her stomach before going on stage for her first piano recital.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Have nerves, feel jittery, have the jitters

Scared Stiff

Meaning: To be so frightened that one cannot move or think clearly.
Example: “The unexpected loud noise scared me stiff, I couldn’t even scream.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Paralyzed with fear, frozen in fear, petrified

Jump Out of Your Skin

Meaning: To be extremely startled or frightened suddenly.
Example: “I nearly jumped out of my skin when the door slammed behind me.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Nearly leap out of your skin, be startled out of your wits, be badly startled

White as a Sheet

Meaning: Looking pale due to fear or shock.
Example: “After seeing the ghost, he turned white as a sheet and couldn’t speak.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pale as a ghost, drained of color, ashen-faced

Shake Like a Leaf

Meaning: To tremble visibly due to fear or nervousness.
Example: “During the earthquake, I was shaking like a leaf and couldn’t stand properly.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Tremble uncontrollably, quake with fear, shiver with fright

Hair Standing on End

Meaning: A physical reaction to extreme fear where one feels their hair rising.
Example: “The eerie sound in the abandoned house made my hair stand on end.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Get goosebumps, feel the hair on the back of your neck rise, get the creeps

Heart in Your Mouth

Meaning: To feel extremely nervous or frightened, often with a sensation of your heart beating rapidly.
Example: “I had my heart in my mouth as I waited for the test results.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Heart racing, pulse pounding, heart skipping beats

Scared to Death

Meaning: Extremely frightened, possibly feeling like you might die from fear.
Example: “The roller coaster ride scared me to death; I’ll never go on it again.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Terrified, petrified, frightened out of one’s wits

Get the Willies

Meaning: To experience a feeling of uneasiness or fear, often from something strange or eerie.
Example: “That old abandoned house gives me the willies every time I walk past it.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Get the creeps, feel spooked, get the heebie-jeebies

Chicken Out

Meaning: To decide not to do something because of fear or nervousness.
Example: “He was going to ask his boss for a raise but chickened out at the last minute.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Lose nerve, back down, bottle out

Break Out in a Cold Sweat

Meaning: To begin sweating due to fear, anxiety, or nervousness.
Example: “Just thinking about my upcoming presentation makes me break out in a cold sweat.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Sweat with fear, perspire anxiously, sweat bullets

Feel Your Blood Run Cold

Meaning: To experience intense fear or horror, often accompanied by a chilling sensation.
Example: “I felt my blood run cold when I heard the scream from the basement.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Feel chilled to the bone, get a chill down your spine, be frozen with fear

Scared Witless

Meaning: Being so frightened that you cannot think clearly or function normally.
Example: “The horror movie scared me witless; I couldn’t sleep for days.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Scared out of one’s mind, terrified beyond reason, utterly terrified

Have Kittens

Meaning: To be extremely worried, anxious, or upset about something.
Example: “My mother would have kittens if she knew I was riding a motorcycle.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be beside oneself with worry, be in a state, be worked up

Give Someone the Creeps

Meaning: To cause someone to feel uncomfortable or frightened.
Example: “That strange man at the bus stop gave me the creeps with his constant staring.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Make someone’s skin crawl, spook someone, unsettle someone

Quake in Your Boots

Meaning: To be very frightened or nervous about something.
Example: “The new recruits were quaking in their boots before meeting the strict drill sergeant.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Tremble with fear, shake with fear, be terrified

Scared Spitless

Meaning: Extremely frightened to the point of being unable to speak.
Example: “The sudden appearance of the bear scared us spitless; we couldn’t even cry for help.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Scared speechless, beyond terrified, utterly frightened

Weak at the Knees

Meaning: Feeling physically unsteady due to fear, nervousness, or strong emotion.
Example: “When he proposed, I went weak at the knees and nearly fell over.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Wobbly-legged, unsteady on one’s feet, legs turned to jelly

Deer in the Headlights

Meaning: Being so frightened or surprised that you cannot move or think.
Example: “When the teacher called on him unexpectedly, he just froze like a deer in the headlights.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Freeze up, be paralyzed with fear, be caught off guard

Not Sleep a Wink

Meaning: Being unable to sleep due to fear, worry, or anxiety.
Example: “I didn’t sleep a wink the night before my major surgery because I was so scared.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Lie awake, toss and turn all night, be kept awake by fear

Make One’s Skin Crawl

Meaning: To cause a feeling of extreme discomfort, disgust, or fear.
Example: “The sound of nails on a chalkboard makes my skin crawl.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Give someone the willies, creep someone out, make someone’s flesh creep

Scare the Living Daylights Out of Someone

Meaning: To frighten someone extremely badly.
Example: “That unexpected clap of thunder scared the living daylights out of me.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Terrify completely, frighten badly, scare someone senseless

Scared Out of One’s Wits

Meaning: Being extremely frightened to the point of not being able to think clearly.
Example: “The sudden blackout scared her out of her wits when she was alone in the basement.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Terrified to the point of confusion, panic-stricken, frightened beyond reason

Be a Nervous Wreck

Meaning: To be extremely anxious, worried, or upset.
Example: “She was a nervous wreck before her first job interview.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be on edge, be a bundle of nerves, be beside oneself with worry

Faint-hearted

Meaning: Lacking courage or resolution; easily frightened or discouraged.
Example: “The faint-hearted students decided not to participate in the haunted house challenge.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Timid, cowardly, easily scared

Run for Your Life

Meaning: To flee as fast as possible from danger or a frightening situation.
Example: “When we saw the approaching tornado, we ran for our lives toward the storm shelter.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Take to one’s heels, flee in terror, make a run for it

Lose Your Nerve

Meaning: To suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned.
Example: “He lost his nerve just before the bungee jump and backed away from the platform.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Chicken out, back down, get cold feet

Scare Someone Half to Death

Meaning: To frighten someone extremely badly.
Example: “Her practical joke scared me half to death when I entered the dark room.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Terrify someone, give someone a terrible fright, horrify someone

Be All of a Tremble

Meaning: To shake with fear or nervousness.
Example: “After the near-accident, she was all of a tremble and couldn’t drive any further.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Shake like a leaf, be visibly shaking, tremble all over

Yellow-bellied

Meaning: Cowardly or easily frightened.
Example: “Don’t be so yellow-bellied; the roller coaster is perfectly safe.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Chicken-hearted, cowardly, lily-livered

Scared Silly

Meaning: So frightened that one cannot think straight or behave normally.
Example: “The children were scared silly by the realistic Halloween decorations.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Frightened out of one’s mind, terrified beyond reason, utterly terrified

Die of Fright

Meaning: To be extremely scared, as if the fear could be fatal.
Example: “When the lights went out and I heard footsteps, I nearly died of fright.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be scared to death, be terrified beyond measure, be utterly petrified

Make One’s Hair Curl

Meaning: To frighten or shock someone severely.
Example: “His stories about deep-sea diving accidents would make your hair curl.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Chill someone’s blood, horrify someone, shock deeply

Have Your Heart in Your Throat

Meaning: To feel extremely anxious or frightened.
Example: “I had my heart in my throat as I watched my child climb the tall tree.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Feel intense anxiety, experience heart-pounding fear, be terribly frightened

Be Scared Witless

Meaning: To be so frightened that one cannot think clearly.
Example: “The sudden appearance of the snake scared me witless and I couldn’t move.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be paralyzed with fear, be terrified beyond thought, be utterly frightened

Scare the Pants Off Someone

Meaning: To frighten someone very badly.
Example: “That horror movie scared the pants off me; I couldn’t sleep afterward.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Terrify completely, frighten intensely, scare badly

Get Goosebumps

Meaning: To experience a physical reaction to fear or excitement, with small bumps appearing on the skin.
Example: “I get goosebumps every time I hear that creepy old legend.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Get gooseflesh, feel one’s skin prickle, get the shivers

Be Scared Out of One’s Skin

Meaning: To be extremely frightened.
Example: “The unexpected explosion scared me out of my skin; I jumped and screamed.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be terrified, be frightened beyond belief, be utterly scared

Feel a Chill Down Your Spine

Meaning: To experience a sudden sensation of fear or unease.
Example: “I felt a chill down my spine when I realized we were being followed.”
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Get the shivers, feel a shiver run down your back, experience a frisson of fear

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Conclusion

Fear is a universal emotion that has inspired numerous idioms and expressions in the English language. By understanding and using these expressions, you can communicate more effectively about your feelings and experiences. Whether you’re just getting the jitters before a presentation or are scared stiff by a horror movie, there’s an idiom that perfectly captures your emotional state.

The next time you’re feeling frightened, remember that you have a wide range of colorful and expressive idioms at your disposal to describe exactly how you feel!

Sources

• Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms
• Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms
• The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
• Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage
• Longman Idioms Dictionary
• Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary