as in to frighten
to strike with fear
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terrify
Loftis, now terrified, has one question left for Wyck.
—
Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026
Greenlanders were terrified; some have since moved to Denmark.
—Ben Taub, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Humans have become difficult to terrify.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
The comedian was terrified after being fired from NewsRadio.
—Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026
Greenlanders were terrified; some have since moved to Denmark.
—Ben Taub, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Humans have become difficult to terrify.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
The comedian was terrified after being fired from NewsRadio.
—Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
-
But her outbursts frightened the children too.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
-
What frightened me most was what might happen to my children.—
Monica Rodriguez-Aguilera,
New York Daily News,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
City Council should refuse to be intimidated and not let Webb scare them from using it to help Chicago and its citizens.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
-
That's not a company that needs to scare off millions of loyal customers with a brutal price rise.—
Janhoi McGregor,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
While the cameras were rolling, Spielberg would stand just out of frame with two wooden bats, banging them together to startle her.—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
19 June 2026
-
To his luck, the sound finally startled the bear and sent it running.—
Paloma Chavez,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
