terrifying

1 of 2

adjective

ter·​ri·​fy·​ing ˈter-ə-ˌfī-iŋ 

ˈte-rə-

1

: causing terror or apprehension

2

: of a formidable nature

terrifyingly adverb

terrifying

2 of 2

present participle of terrify

Synonyms of terrifying

Adjective

• frightening
• scary
• formidable
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating

Examples of terrifying in a Sentence

Adjective

The thought of dying alone was terrifying.

heard a terrifying noise coming from the next room

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Robertson and Sepulveda play two friends who travel to a remote Italian village to settle a family estate, where their trip spirals into a deadly game of deception at the hands of a charming hunter with a terrifying secret (Armitage). — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026

In the last two minutes of the flight, Filgueiras shifted from calmly communicating with air traffic controllers to calling out terrifying updates as the plane plummeted. — Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

But when a curious stranger arrives, with a fake name and a case of her own, her connection to Tina threatens to reveal a terrifying truth about what happened to Angela. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2026

Video recorded by people inside their cars captured the terrifying moment the aircraft plunged from the sky, before striking near the roadway and exploding. — Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for terrifying

• applying
• belying
• complying
• decrying
• defying
• denying
• implying
• outlying
• relying
• replying
• supplying
• undying