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
The Mariners are terrified of the Carpenter versus Kirby matchup.
—
The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
The weight of it terrified her; That Rock seemed to want to pull her somewhere deep inside the ground.
—Hazlitt, 8 Oct. 2025
Even those who like parts of his agenda have been stumped about how to talk him out of the stuff that terrifies them — whiplash tariffs and a labor-depleting immigration crackdown.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2025
This kitten must have been terrified—trapped inside a bag and flung over a fence near a busy station.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
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The Athletic Mlb Staff, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
The weight of it terrified her; That Rock seemed to want to pull her somewhere deep inside the ground.
—Hazlitt, 8 Oct. 2025
Even those who like parts of his agenda have been stumped about how to talk him out of the stuff that terrifies them — whiplash tariffs and a labor-depleting immigration crackdown.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2025
This kitten must have been terrified—trapped inside a bag and flung over a fence near a busy station.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 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 19 Oct. 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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