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
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
These are the hallmarks of the Alien franchise, which have remained mostly consistent across the seven movies (plus two vacuous Alien vs. Predator crossovers) that have kept those terrifying Xenomorphs coming back to our screens every decade since the original premiered in 1979.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Though some residents are not keen on seeing alligators in the wild, the animals are just as terrified of humans as humans are of them.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Aug. 2025
She too is terrified of facing her father, played by Cheon Ho-jin.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The children of an Afghan man who served with U.S. troops and entered the U.S legally are terrified to play outside after their father was detained at a green-card appointment, the man's brother said.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
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Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Though some residents are not keen on seeing alligators in the wild, the animals are just as terrified of humans as humans are of them.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Aug. 2025
She too is terrified of facing her father, played by Cheon Ho-jin.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The children of an Afghan man who served with U.S. troops and entered the U.S legally are terrified to play outside after their father was detained at a green-card appointment, the man's brother said.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrify. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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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