To Be Afraid Of, To Fear
Intransitive verb and Godan verb
こわがる
私の主人は逆さ睫毛の手術を受けるのをとても怖がっていたんですよ。
My husband was very scared of getting surgery for his ingrown eyelashes.
怖い is "scary." This is a verb version, making it to be scared or to be afraid of.
The reading comes from 怖い.