deer in the headlights

Noun

Meaning

(idiomatic) A person in a mental state of high arousal caused by anxiety, fear, panic, surprise and/or confusion, or substance abuse.

(idiomatic) A person with a stunned or glazed expression.

Synonyms

Examples

Small businesses no longer need to feel like a deer in the headlights when considering constructing or updating their Web sites. With ClickThings what you see is what you get, unlike some other competitive Web-based Website building tools. Boomer Esiason

Believe it or not, the biggest obstacle for a business owner with any size business is the internal response to the question - 'Now what?' Often this question is followed by a - deer in the headlights - response, which is then followed by stagnation. Following stagnation comes fear. Darren L Johnson

Close letter words and terms