terrifying
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If something is terrifying, it makes you feel extremely afraid. Even if your little sister loves the scary roller coaster at the amusement park, you might still find it terrifying. Some people feel mildly alarmed when they see a small spider — if you have a phobia about spiders, discovering one in your bathtub is truly terrifying. This alarming adjective comes from the Latin root terrificus ("causing terror"), which it shares with terrific, a word whose meaning was originally just as scary.
Vocabulary lists containing terrifying
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thomas Friedman, a prominent New York Times opinion columnist, authored a piece this week titled “Anthropic’s Restraint Is a Terrifying Warning Sign.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026
Terrifying as that is, the eye midge manages to be scarier.
From Salon • Sep. 18, 2025
BREAKING: Terrifying moments Sunday night at the GloRilla concert at the Main Street Armory.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2023
The lighter side of the dark side is on display in the new animated Halloween special “Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2021
“Well, that’s too bad, because I’ve been working on my Terrifying Hiss Maneuver. Check this out.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
