Scared of means afraid of someone or something: I'm scared of spiders. It's a conversational synonym for afraid of. After of, use a noun or a verb with -ing: scared of flying, scared of making mistakes.
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be/get scared of + noun/-ing; scared to + verb; scared (that) + clause
- My daughter used to be scared of the dark, but now she sleeps without a lamp.
- A lot of students are scared of making mistakes when they speak English.
- Don't be scared of the exam; you've already done all the practice tests.
What changed
First versionI'm scary of big dogs, so I always cross the street when I see one.
RevisionI'm scared of big dogs, so I always cross the street when I see one.
Scary means frightening: it describes what causes fear, such as a scary film. Scared means frightened: it describes the person who feels afraid. The two words look so alike that they're easy to mix up. The one change: scary → scared.
Scared of + -ing describes a fear in general: She's scared of flying. Scared to + verb means you don't dare take a particular step: I was scared to tell my boss about the mistake. Afraid of means the same as scared of but sounds more neutral and suits writing better.
Your turn
Anna is scared ___ in public, so she rehearses every talk at home first.
Show the answer
of speaking — After the preposition of, a verb takes -ing: scared of speaking. The base form speak can't come after of.
Describe a fear you managed to overcome. Say what you were scared of and what helped.
I used to be scared of speaking on the phone in English, but daily practice with a colleague helped me.
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