frighten away

frighten away

To scare a person or an animal away from a particular place or thing. A noun or pronoun can be used between "frighten" and "away." Can you guys quit screaming at each other in the middle of the department? You're going to frighten away my 2 o'clock interview! I can do basic car repairs, but a major one like that would frighten me away, honestly. He shot his rifle in the air to frighten away the wolves.
See also: away, frighten
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

frighten someone or something away

 and frighten someone or something off
to scare someone or something off. The noise frightened the burglar away. Something frightened away the prowlers. The high prices frightened the shoppers off.
See also: away, frighten
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

frighten away

or frighten off
v.
To cause someone or something to leave or to stay away due to fear: The sound of my shotgun frightened the crows away. The alarm frightened away the burglar. The big dog frightens off unwanted guests. The scary-looking house frightened neighborhood children off.
See also: away, frighten
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • bury away
  • bring away
  • blaze away
  • blaze away at (someone or something)
  • chew away
  • bear away
  • boring
  • borne
  • cut away
  • chuck away
References in periodicals archive
Defence barrister Shaun Routledge told the court: "All he wanted to do was frighten away the injured party.
Any sensible government and its security services knows that you don't frighten away law-breakers by setting up road blocks and the like which they can see a mile away and circumvent, but invite them to travel along a route which you have prepared beforehand.
"In my opinion, a company that contracts with someone to frighten away their pigeons needs to do a better follow-up in the area to see what impact that has," Deputy Chief Barrieau said.
Also discussed are how to research the life's work of one's physician on Google and ask him questions about his practice (it's important to listen to the tone of the answers as well as the answers themselves); why terms like "experimental/investigational procedures" and "medically necessary" are little more than manipulative word-dancing meant to frighten away people from demanding insurance payment; how to respectfully and persuasively present one's case to insurance industry bureaucrats and medical professionals who have a vested financial interest in your imminent death (if you die quickly, they don't have to pay for your treatment); and much more.
Opposite a main entrance they may frighten away clients, however.
The Arabs, he said, had to govern well or they would frighten away the investing public and let extremists in.
"The last thing we want is to frighten away our own residents.
Yet the production's mellow incarnation won't frighten away the older audiences the series can't afford to lose.
For a moment I imagined how simple it would be if we today could only stamp our little huarached feet and frighten away all our enemies.
Though these categories appear throughout, they do little analytic work--and I fear they will frighten away undergraduate and non-academic readers.
So it would appear that Plaid espouses independence privately, to placate its supporters, but this must never be stated publicly, because it might frighten away potential voters.
The `Effaroucheurs' are precisely what their name inters - intimidators whose job it is to frighten away not only the thousands of birds but also the tens of thousands of rabbits that inhabit the grassland around Orly's busy runways.
Requiring the sites' users to identify or register themselves would frighten away those who depend upon the anonymity and confidentiality of the service.
The title refers to an incident near the end of the story, when Okada accidentally kills a wild goose with a stone intended to frighten away a flock of geese.
Germans complain of high taxes, rising social security contributions, and east Germany's development costs which frighten away foreign companies and drive German manufacturers abroad.