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
For their owners and crew, many of whom are not, by sailing standards, especially wealthy, the attacks are terrifying.
—
Tomas Weber, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
Frantic, terrified, her words jumbling together, Kathie tried to tell police everything all at once.
—Marisa Kwiatkowski, USA TODAY, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrify 
Tomas Weber, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2024
Frantic, terrified, her words jumbling together, Kathie tried to tell police everything all at once.
—Marisa Kwiatkowski, USA TODAY, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrify
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrify. Accessed 28 May. 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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