terrify
verb (used with object)
to fill with terror or alarm; make greatly afraid.
was terrifying
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past progressiveof terrify.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The massive success of “Station Eleven” allowed her to quit her admin job to pursue the life of a full-time novelist and television writer, a move she says was terrifying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The group pursuing McNulty was terrifying: Evenepoel, van der Poel, Seixas, del Toro, and others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Curry made him a Bozo hiding sharp teeth, which was terrifying but not alluring in the least.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
"It was terrifying, to put it mildly," says the group's head Iryna Didur.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
I saw what Ishtar was, or could be again, and she was terrifying.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
