The word 吓坏 is formed by combining the character 吓, meaning "to scare" or "to frighten", with the character 坏, meaning "broken" or "spoiled". It conceptually fuses the action of frightening someone with the extreme result of that action, picturing a state where one's composure or nerves are so severely overwhelmed by fear that they are metaphorically "broken" or shattered, effectively creating a vivid image of being scared out of one's wits.