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Prepositions after verbs

Frighten by or frighten of?

Frighten is commonly followed by by when naming the cause. Frighten of is not standard in modern English.

Quick answer

Which preposition is correct after frighten?

Use frighten by to name what causes fear, especially in passive structures such as be frightened by. Frighten of is not a standard modern combination. For the emotion itself, English usually uses afraid of or frightened of.

The children were frightened by the thunder.
She was frightened of spiders.
We were frightened by the sudden noise.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
frightened by + cause

Naming what causes fear

Use by after frightened to introduce the thing or event that creates fear.

He was frightened by the explosion.
Tourists were frightened by the aggressive dog.
2
frightened of + thing

Describing a fear

Use frightened of to describe fear of a person, object, or situation.

My niece is frightened of the dark.
They are frightened of flying.
3
frighten + object

Using frighten as an active verb

The verb can directly take an object without a preposition.

Frighten the cat and it will hide.
The loud alarm frightened the workers.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
frightened by
She was frightened by the storm.
Standard; names the cause of fear.
frightened of
He is frightened of snakes.
Standard adjective pattern meaning afraid of something.
frighten by
The film frightened me by using sudden silence.
Possible when by introduces the method or cause.
frighten of
They said she was frighten of dogs.
Nonstandard after the verb frighten; use frightened of or frightened by depending on meaning.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using frighten of as a verb pattern

After the verb frighten, of is generally not used directly.

✕ The noise frightened of the child. ✓ The noise frightened the child.

Confusing frightened by and frightened of

By introduces the cause, while of introduces the object of fear.

✕ She was frightened by spiders. ✓ She was frightened of spiders.

Missing the -ed form

Use frightened as the adjective.

✕ I am frighten of heights. ✓ I am frightened of heights.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The hikers were frightened ___ the bear.
2. My son is frightened ___ thunderstorms.
3. The movie frightened ___ audience.

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Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

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Frequently asked questions

Is frighten of correct?

No. Modern English normally uses frightened of or frightened by instead.

What is the difference between frightened by and frightened of?

Frightened by focuses on the cause of fear, while frightened of names the thing someone fears.

Can frighten be used without a preposition?

Yes. Frighten often takes a direct object, as in The noise frightened me.

face, with, face, by facilitate by, in, with, for or through? "fade into", "fade to" or "fade from"? fail in, at, to, on or for? "fall into" or "fall in"? falter in, after, for, on or under? fantasize about, on, of or over? fare in, against, to, as or on? "fascinate by" or "fascinate with"? "fasten to", "fasten on" or "fasten with"? favor by, in, for, from or of? favour by, in, for, over or of?

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