Phrases to describe Fear

Question 1

the heebie-jeebies (n)

Answer 1

strong feeling of fear or worry; a state of nervousness caused by fear or anxiety

• This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.
• The moment I entered the storeroom, I got the heebie-jeebies.

Question 2

one’s blood runs cold

Answer 2

to be extremely frightened

• When the robber whipped out his knife to my throat, my blood ran cold.
• Hearing her scream made my blood run cold.

Question 3

to get goosebumps

Answer 3

small raised areas that appear on the skin because of cold, fear or emotional stress

• Sally got goosebumps the moment she heard someone call her name in the dark.
• The howling sound is giving me goosebumps!

Question 4

like a deer caught in the headlights

Answer 4

too frightened or surprised to move

• “Larry!” the teacher shouted. Larry immediately froze like a deer caught in the headlights.
• Like a deer caught in the headlights, Garren stood rooted to the ground with his jaw hanging open.

Question 5

a sense of foreboding

Answer 5

a feeling that something very bad is going to happen soon; to feel a sense of impending evil or misfortune

• When I entered the house, I felt a strong sense of foreboding.
• As she entered the lift with the stranger, she got a strong sense of foreboding.

Question 6

one’s heart skips a beat

or

one’s heart misses a beat

Answer 6

to feel so frightened that your heart beats faster

• Tom felt his heart miss a beat when he heard a loud, gruff voice behind him.
• My heart skipped a beat the moment that truck swerved out of nowhere!

Question 7

to be on pins and needles

Answer 7

to be nervously waiting to find out what is going to happen; to be in suspense

• He was on pins and needles while waiting for his name to be called out.
• While waiting for the exam results to be released, the students were on pins and needles.

Question 8

to be scared out of one’s wits

Answer 8

to be extremely frightened

• Michelle was scared out of her wits when her brother jumped out of the closet with a scary mask on.
• The loud explosion scared me out of my wits.

Question 9

to shake like a leaf

Answer 9

to tremble intensely from fear

• She could not stop herself from shaking like a leaf as she hid under her bed.
• The hostage started to shake like a leaf when the robber pressed his knife up against her throat.

Question 10

to hyperventilate

Answer 10

to breathe abnormally fast or deep

• When she saw the amount of blood she had lost, she started hyperventilating.
• The victim was still hyperventilating from the shock when the police arrived at the scene.