More frightening or causing more fear than something else.
From 'scare' (from Old Norse 'skirra' meaning 'to scare'), plus the comparative suffix '-ier.' The word compares two things in terms of how much fear they inspire.
Our brains actually find unpredictable things scarier than consistently dangerous ones—so a randomly jumping scare is more effective than a constant threat, which is why jump scares work so well in horror movies.
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