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
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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
He told Salon that equating drug traffickers with terrorist is meant to “stigmatize and terrify people.”
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2026
"Either to terrify the residents and force them to move," he said, "or to put pressure on the Lebanese army to confront people."
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
And yes, SVB should terrify anyone paying attention.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
Katie did not mean to terrify the child.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
The Sublime, Edmund Burke wrote in 1757, terrifies in darkness, but when its effects are managed and ordered, we call them beauty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
“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 Sailor settles into her new job on Alcatraz, she begins to shake things up, which both thrills and terrifies Camille, who has always kept her head down and followed the rules.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
It is the kind of material that grips high school actors and audiences but terrifies school administrations.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
“Pugh seemed frozen, terrified and not quite clear-headed. It was not the usual Pugh, who was direct, thoughtful and expressive. She was shaking and clearly traumatized.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"I fled on my own, terrified, on one of my sons' motorcycles. We have nothing left," said the woman in her fifties from the Muthalath al-Udain area of Hodeida province.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Kushner’s father, who had worked as an Army mechanic in World War II, told her years later that he had never been more terrified than when he took her to have that abortion.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The majority were in favor of striking north, but others were filled with doubt or terrified of losing U.S. support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
People were terrified that other waves would strike.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
"The sky lit up and about 15 seconds later we heard the terrifying sound," Ahamed, a resident in Nabatieh, about 6km west of the ridge, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Hell is terrifying, but the “Inferno” itself is a beauty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The first moment you look inside a newly discovered ancient tomb is at once exciting and terrifying.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
As a bibliophilic library thriller, “Chronovisor” is terrifying.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The idea of playing Duke a little longer was terrifying.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
