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

As a mother of three daughters, I am terrified by how this technology has been used to exploit teenagers. —Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Do these mushrooms leave you more awe-struck than terrified? —Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

And Robert Zemeckis' 2009 take featuring Jim Carrey is noteworthy for a few reasons: Not only are the ghosts downright terrifying, but the animation style is also unsettling, and may scare you for all the wrong reasons. —Huntley Woods, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024

Whether gearing toward the wholesome, peculiar or straight up terrifying, here are some of the most memorable animal videos of 2024. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 18 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