as in to frighten
to strike with fear
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
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Recent Examples of terrify
In a TikTok video, the bully's owner shared a clip that challenges the breed's aggressive reputation—by showing her dog terrified of her new puppy.
—
Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
The game is twisted, disturbing, and terrifying in all the right ways.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
It is billed as a story about soaring romance, crushing heartbreak and what love might feel like when everyone outside of your family is terrified of you.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
Sponsors, television was terrified of us.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
The game is twisted, disturbing, and terrifying in all the right ways.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
It is billed as a story about soaring romance, crushing heartbreak and what love might feel like when everyone outside of your family is terrified of you.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025
Sponsors, television was terrified of us.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
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If the intent was to frighten the population, the move succeeded.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
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Within my book, one of the things that frightens me most is the fact that with censorship, there’s often not a clear red line, right?—
Fiction Non Fiction
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nice to know there’s stuff that scares him.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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First baseman Michael Toglia covered his head, too, and was startled when the ball landed a few feet from him.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
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Sleep may be disturbed by a pet's movements, and dogs may bite if startled.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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