assustar

Senses

1. 1.

   to scare, to frighten

   to cause fear or alarm in someone

2. 2.

   to startle

   to surprise someone suddenly, causing a brief shock

3. 3.

   to get scared, to be frightened

   reflexive: to experience fear or alarm (assustar-se)

Examples

• "Não quero assustar você, mas acho que tem alguém nos seguindo."

  I don't want to scare you, but I think someone is following us.

• "O barulho da porta me assustou no meio da noite."

  The door noise startled me in the middle of the night.

• "Ela se assustou com a notícia do acidente."

  She got frightened by the news of the accident.

Usage

Very common verb in everyday Brazilian Portuguese. Often used reflexively (assustar-se) to mean "to get scared." Common collocations: assustar com algo (to be scared by something), dar um susto (to give a scare). The noun form is susto (scare/fright).