scared stiff
Meaning
Extremely frightened—so scared you feel unable to move or act.
Origin
“Stiff” means rigid or unable to move. The idiom uses a vivid metaphor: fear makes your body tense and rigid, as if frozen, a sense recorded in English since the 19th century.
Notes
Stronger than “scared.” Common in speech; describes a person’s intense fear, sometimes exaggerated for emphasis even if they can still move.
Examples
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I was scared stiff when the car suddenly skidded on the ice.
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She went scared stiff when she realized someone was following her home.
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The little boy stood there, scared stiff, as the dog barked at him.
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He gets scared stiff every time he has to speak in front of a big crowd.
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We were scared stiff when we heard footsteps downstairs in the middle of the night.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually used as an adjective complement: “be scared stiff,” “get scared stiff.” It’s fairly fixed; “stiff” stays after “scared.”
Synonyms
- scared to death
- scared out of one's wits
- terrified
- petrified
- frozen with fear
Antonyms
- unfazed
- unafraid
- fearless