Learn English Vocabulary: Talking about FEAR

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on talking about

fear. So today, we're going to look at different ways you can talk about being scared. You

can use this to talk about scary movies, scary books, scary experiences you've had in your

life, or things that just make you feel uncomfortable or really shocked and afraid.

So No. 1, I have a lot of different synonyms for the word "scared". So you could say, "I'm

scared" or, "I'm afraid"; "I'm frightened"; "I am terrified"; "I am horrified." And just

make sure you use the most common preposition for these words, and that is "of". So, "You

are scared of spiders", for example, or "scared of heights", which are high places.

And here, the second one we have is, "He is scared to death of flying." So this is a complete

expression, "to be scared to death of something". And again, you need the verb "to be" in this

as well. So, "He is scared to death"; "I am scared to death"; "she is scared to death";

"they are scared to death." So they are scared so much that they want to die in the presence

of this thing or whatever it is. So, "He's scared to death of flying", he is incredibly

afraid, very afraid.

Next, "He gives me the creeps." Now, before I explain this, you will notice that No. 3,

No. 4, and No. 5 all have similar words. And we have "creeps", "creeping", "creepy", this

whole family of words. So I'm going to go with "creepy" first. So, "That's really creepy."

If something is "creepy", it makes you feel uncomfortable, like, uncomfortable in your

skin. It sends shivers down your spine. And I'll explain that in a little bit. So if you

feel uncomfortable, that means that something is "creepy". Okay?

So, "He gives me the creeps." So someone can "give you the creeps", meaning they can make

you feel a little uncomfortable, unsure of that person. And, "Stop it! You're creeping

me out." So if someone is "creeping you out" -- to "creep someone out" means to make someone

feel uncomfortable and scared or frightened, but more of an uncomfortable fear. Okay? So

think of, like, people making you uncomfortable and scaring you in a creepy, unsettling kind

of way. So a person can "give you the creeps". A person can "creep you out". Or a person

can just "be creepy", and this is an adjective, so you have to use the verb "to be". "That

is really creepy"; "he is really creepy"; "they are creepy", etc.

And the next two, you'll notice -- "freaky" and "freaked me out". They have a similar

-- what's the word I'm looking for? -- connection with "creepy". But instead of meaning something

makes you uncomfortable, if something "freaks you out" or if some "is freaky", it's scary

in a shocking way. So if I say, "Whoa, that's freaky", that's really frightening and scary,

not in, like, an uncomfortable way, but in a shocking kind of way. Okay? So think of

"creepy" as uncomfortable. Think of "freaky" as, "Whoa. Shock." So that's "freaky". Or,

"The movie freaked me out", like, shocked me, made me scared. Okay?

Now, what you'll notice is we can say, "He gives me the creeps", but you cannot say,

"He gives me the freaks", or, "That gives me the freaks." So "gives me the creeps" is

the only expression you can use. Otherwise, you can say, "freaky" or "freak me out".

And finally, "It sent shivers down my spine." So your spine is, you know, the part of your

back that runs up and down to your brain. And if something sends "shivers" -- like a

cold feeling, like your body shakes -- it makes you uncomfortable. Again, so if something

"sends shivers down your spine", it makes you afraid or scared.

All right. So to review, you can be scared of something, afraid of something, frightened

of something, horrified of something, terrified of something. You can be scared to death of

something. Someone or something can give you the creeps. They can creep you out, be creepy,

be freaky, freak you out, or send shivers down your spine.

Now, if you want to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check

out the quiz on www.engvid.com. And don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thanks, everyone. I'll see you next time.