terrify

verb

ter·​ri·​fy ˈter-ə-ˌfī 

ˈte-rə-

terrified; terrifying

transitive verb

1

a

: to drive or impel by menacing : scare

b

: deter, intimidate

2

: to fill with terror

Synonyms

• affright
• alarm
• alarum
• fright
• frighten
• horrify
• panic
• scare
• scarify
• shock
• spook
• startle
• terrorize

Examples of terrify in a Sentence

The thought of dying alone terrifies her.

the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me

Recent Examples on the Web

All at once, Eggers pays homage to Schreck’s beast and contorts him entirely; honoring the folklore written by and about the people who truly believed these creatures existed and were terrified of them. —Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024

As the fighting ramped up in September, with daily missile barrages on the entire north, people were terrified of driving, fearing they’d be caught on the roads without shelter. —Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Dec. 2024

To put that into context, people are terrified of aging or miserable in their bodies. —Essence, 5 Dec. 2024

Before his arrest, witnesses in the case were terrified to come forward, but that will change now that Williams is in custody, Holloway said. —Faith Karimi, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin terrificare, from terrificus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

terrify

verb

ter·​ri·​fy ˈter-ə-ˌfī 

terrified; terrifying

: to fill with terror

terrifyingly

-ˌfī-iŋ-lē

adverb