Synonyms

terrify

American

[ter-uh-fahy] / ˈtɛr əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

terrified, terrifying

to fill with terror or alarm; make greatly afraid.

terrify British

/ ˈtɛrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See frighten.

Other Word Forms

terrifier noun
terrifyingly adverb
unterrified adjective
unterrifying adjective

Etymology

Origin of terrify

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

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.

Hawkins was under seige, with Rifts - or dimensional tears - opening up, letting in terrifying Demogorgons from the Upside Down, while the town was under military quarantine.

From BBC

And they are terrified of spreading the disease to loved ones.

From The Wall Street Journal

"One of them put its head down and started thumping the ground. I was terrified. I couldn't escape," she added.

From BBC

An exquisite, heartbreaking and genuinely terrifying contemplation of trauma and familial love.

From Los Angeles Times

The letters left her “shocked and terrified,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023