terrify
verb
ter·ri·fy
ˈter-ə-ˌfī 
ˈte-rə-
terrified; terrifying
1
a
: to drive or impel by menacing : scare
b
: deter, intimidate
2
: to fill with terror
Synonyms
Examples of terrify in a Sentence
The thought of dying alone terrifies her.
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
Recent Examples on the Web
On the one hand, the development of a human rabies vaccine in 1885 was good for dogs: Once pooches were no longer terrifying disease vectors, people could welcome them into their home without reservation.
—
Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The programmer, terrified, tries to destroy the copy of himself.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Shiri Bibas was filmed on Oct. 7, terrified and clutching her children as gunmen forced them into captivity.
—Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Have fun terrifying the family by lighting ‘em up off the line and shredding to 60 in 3 seconds flat.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Now the best-selling author of over 60 novels and novellas, as well as 12 short story collections and five works of nonfiction, King has been terrifying readers for generations, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Though terrifying to people, spiders aren’t always treated with trepidation.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Calls to the Police The abuse left Nicole Simpson bruised and terrified on scores of occasions, but the police rarely took substantive action.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
In the meantime, many Palestinians, who are terrified about their own safety and their family's survival, are turning to themselves, their families, their communities and religion to get them through.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The programmer, terrified, tries to destroy the copy of himself.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024
Shiri Bibas was filmed on Oct. 7, terrified and clutching her children as gunmen forced them into captivity.
—Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Have fun terrifying the family by lighting ‘em up off the line and shredding to 60 in 3 seconds flat.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Now the best-selling author of over 60 novels and novellas, as well as 12 short story collections and five works of nonfiction, King has been terrifying readers for generations, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Though terrifying to people, spiders aren’t always treated with trepidation.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
Calls to the Police The abuse left Nicole Simpson bruised and terrified on scores of occasions, but the police rarely took substantive action.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
In the meantime, many Palestinians, who are terrified about their own safety and their family's survival, are turning to themselves, their families, their communities and religion to get them through.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'terrify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near terrify
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrify. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
terrify
verb
ter·ri·fy
ˈter-ə-ˌfī
terrified; terrifying
: to fill with terror
terrifyingly
adverb
-ˌfī-iŋ-lē
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