- present participle of terrify.
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.
"That first year was absolutely terrifying," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Also read: Yes, the AI stock selloff looks terrifying.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
And like all fairy tales, it has something to tell us about how we are transformed as we encounter the strange and terrifying and magnificent.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
The employees were completing routine field work near the picturesque waters of Gumboot Lake when things took a terrifying turn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
But the paper stares back up at me, blindingly blank like the terrifying unknowns of my new fate.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
