Fright, n.
Etymology: [OE. frigt, freyht, AS. fyrhto, fyrhtu; akin to OS. forhta, OHG. forhta, forahta, G. furcht, Dan. frygt, Sw. fruktan, Goth. faúrhtei fear, faúrhts timid.]
1. A state of terror excited by the sudden appearance of danger; sudden and violent fear, usually of short duration; a sudden alarm.
2. Anything strange, ugly or shocking, producing a feeling of alarm or aversion. [Colloq.]
Syn. -- Alarm; terror; consternation. See Alarm.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Fright, v. t. [imp. Frighted; p. pr. & vb. n.. Frighting.]
To alarm suddenly; to shock by causing sudden fear; to terrify; to scare. Nor exile or danger can fright a brave spirit. Dryden.
Syn. -- To affright; dismay; daunt; intimidate.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for fright; he lists it under alarm, fear.
Where he writes about it:
Affright and fright express sudden fear which, for the time at least, overwhelms courage. — from alarm
Horror (etymologically a shivering or shuddering) denotes a shuddering fear accompanied with abhorrence or such a shock to the feelings and sensibilities as may exist without fear, as when one suddenly encounters some ghastly spectacle; we say of a desperate but fettered criminal, "I looked upon him with horror." Where horror includes fear, it is fear mingled with abhorrence. (See abhor.) Affright, fright, and terror are always sudden, and in actual presence of that which is terrible. — from fear
Fear may overwhelm, or may nerve one to desperate defense; fright and terror render one incapable of defense; fear may be controlled by force of will; fright and terror overwhelm the will; terror paralyzes, fright may cause one to fly, to scream, or to swoon. — from fear
Fright is largely a matter of the nerves; fear of the intellect and the imagination; terror of all the faculties, bodily and mental. — from fear
Panic is a sudden fear or fright, affecting numbers at once; vast armies or crowded audiences are liable to panic upon slight occasion. — from fear
Dismay is more reflective, enduring, and despairing than fright; a horse is subject to fright or terror, but not to dismay. — from fear