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
-
am terrifyingprogressive
-
are terrifyingprogressive
-
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
He told Salon that equating drug traffickers with terrorist is meant to “stigmatize and terrify people.”
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2026
It seems to me that the math behind the analysis was designed to terrify, not inform.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2025
Katie Gauche, of the Disabled Children's Partnership, said the idea of scrapping plans will "terrify families".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
Questions from South Korean bank tellers, whom they meet on field trips to open bank accounts, often terrify defectors.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
“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
"If there is a flood warning and our dogs are in the house it terrifies us because we both travel over an hour to and from work," she said.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
“As both a gun owner and an American citizen, this terrifies me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
So if I see a really big bridge, like the bridge in Long Beach, going over that terrifies me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
Mr. Benedict puts you at ease, but Mr. Curtain terrifies you.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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
They tried to spend the night inside, but the roof groaned and terrified them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Having returned to Ghana's capital, Accra, in May, Asamoah tells the BBC that the encounter left him terrified.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
And the rest of baseball should probably be terrified.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Dad nodded in slow motion, his terrified eyes locked on to the needle.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
One of the most viscerally terrifying scenes of “Mulholland Drive” takes place behind the dumpster at the abandoned Caesar’s diner in Gardena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Outside the centre, Yana Ludwig, who was travelling alone on the train from London to Lewes, said the experience as "completely terrifying".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
This one is new, surprising, secretly brilliant—and completely terrifying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 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
And then came an even more terrifying sound: heavy footsteps right behind him.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
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.
