terrify

[ter-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object)

terrified, terrifying 

1. to fill with terror or alarm; make greatly afraid.

terrify

/ ˈtɛrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to inspire fear or dread in; frighten greatly

Other Word Forms

• terrifier noun
• terrifyingly adverb
• unterrified adjective
• unterrifying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrify¹

1565–75; < Latin terrificāre, equivalent to terr ( ēre ) to frighten + -ificāre -ify

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrify¹

C16: from Latin terrificāre, from terrēre to alarm + facere to cause

Synonym Study

See frighten.

Example Sentences

When she loses her cycle, she is forced to run up the helix of a parking garage at normal human speed, giving a pathetic comedic element to someone who ought to be terrifying.

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Skeletal replicas of the terrifying mosasaur, a Komodo Dragon relative with a six-foot jaw; the saber-toothed salmon; and other extinct species greet visitors in the museum’s entrance hall.

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As Laura, the foster mother in “Bring Her Back,” Ms. Hawkins turns the smile up to terrifying.

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“It had everyone terrified,” he said, saying the neighborhood over the years has had a high concentration of people who have died from cancer and respiratory illnesses.

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“They were terrified,” Daniels said of the visa-holders, given the weekend uncertainty over the new rules.

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Related Words

• alarm 
• awe 
• dismay 
• frighten 
• horrify 
• intimidate 
• petrify 
• shock 
• startle 
• stun 
• terrorize