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.
Surprise guest Harry Styles presented the award to Yorke calling it "a terrifying honour."
From BBC • May 21, 2026
But for now, the Hantavirus looks less terrifying than its predecessor.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
She has written about the history of Superman on screen, wellness in "The White Lotus," and the terrifying allure of "Nosferatu."
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The empathy is gone, and now we’re left with soulless, terrifying Homelander.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
In states like Virginia that had large enslaved communities, few things were more terrifying to white people—whether or not they owned slaves—than the idea of a violent uprising of slaves.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
