asustado

Asustado is a Spanish adjective and the past participle of the verb asustar. It means “scared,” “frightened,” or “afraid,” and is used to describe a person or animal that has experienced fear or a sudden fright.

Usage is typically with estar to express a temporary emotional state, for example: Estoy asustado cuando oigo truenos; Ella estaba asustada al mirar la película de terror. The verb asustar can also be used in active constructions, as in Me asustó la alarma, to indicate that something caused fear.

Grammar and morphology: asustado agrees in gender and number: el niño asustado, la niña asustada, los niños asustados, las niñas asustadas. The corresponding noun is el susto, meaning fear or fright. The adverb is asustadamente, used to describe the manner of being scared.

Regional and usage notes: in both Spain and Latin America, asustado is widely used to convey a temporary emotional state. It can describe people or animals, and appears in common expressions such as “quedarse asustado” (to become frightened) or “me dejó asustado” (it left me frightened). It is distinct from terms like temeroso (fearful) or asombrado (astonished) in nuance.

Etymology: asustado derives from the verb asustar, which is linked to susto, the noun for fright. The exact origin of susto is uncertain, but the family sense is “to frighten” or “to scare.”

See also: asustar, susto, miedo, temeroso, asombrado.