terrify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
terrifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
terrified,
past participle, past
-
terrifying
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See frighten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
terrifysimple
-
terrifiessimple
-
have terrifiedperfect
-
has terrifiedperfect
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am terrifyingprogressive
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are terrifyingprogressive
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is terrifyingprogressive
-
have been terrifyingperfect progressive
-
has been terrifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
terrifiedsimple
-
had terrifiedperfect
-
was terrifyingprogressive
-
were terrifyingprogressive
-
had been terrifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of terrify
1565–75; < Latin terrificāre, equivalent to terr ( ēre ) to frighten + -ificāre -ify
Explanation
If you terrify someone, that person is enormously frightened of you. The verb terrify is closely related to the word terror, and its Latin root is terrificus, "causing terror." While some people might say that monsters terrify them, others are terrified by heights, snakes, or speaking in public. If there's something that makes you feel a deep, horrible sense of fear, it terrifies you.
Vocabulary lists containing terrify
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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The House of Hades
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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.
See Examples For:
The backrooms seem to exist in part to terrify entrants into redirecting their energies toward better life choices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
And yes, SVB should terrify anyone paying attention.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
“I’ve come to view Jesus the way I’ve come to view Elvis. I love the guy, but some of the fan clubs terrify me.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025
Katie Gauche, of the Disabled Children's Partnership, said the idea of scrapping plans will "terrify families".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
What began to trouble Madison, then terrify him, was not Hamilton’s goal—the recovery of public credit—but the way he proposed to reach it.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
“You’re walking into a very, very conflictual relationship with the U.S.—and that terrifies me. But I’m not sure if there’s any way around it. Aren’t we actually already there?”
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
“As both a gun owner and an American citizen, this terrifies me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
The thought of being forced by immigration agents to return to Mexico terrifies Vargas.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
Eastwood said that "incel culture" terrifies and disturbs her.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2025
It terrifies her that there are six of us men present.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
The night before Lee’s first day on Aug. 3, she couldn’t sleep, terrified she would miss her alarm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
If he didn't, the 22-year-old from the north of England would spend the night silent, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Abu Ridi said he was hoping to stay in the house on Monday night, which left him "terrified".
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
There’s a culture at the time of lavish gift-giving to diplomats and foreign officials, and he’s just terrified that officers of the United States will be beholden and influenced by foreigners.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
What do you say when your best friend has lost his mojo because you tried to reduce him to a paranoid bundle of nerves terrified of going into anaphylactic shock?
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
The first act has a visceral, terrifying sequence with panicky close-ups of extras sprinting pell-mell toward the car.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
System collapse reveals the terrifying truth: No one is at the wheel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
"Everything came crashing down. It was terrifying," Cristina Ruiz Lopez, a lab worker who was at a supermarket in Granada when the earthquake hit, wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The effects of a terrifying or life-threatening experience can continue long after the immediate danger has passed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
That was probably a sound idea, since I couldn’t imagine giving another interview, the first one having been so unexpected and terrifying.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
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.
