as in frightens
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 terrifies
The first time terrifies every founder.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The moped-like sound of the Shaheds whooshing above the rooftops still unsettles but no longer terrifies.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 May 2025
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The moped-like sound of the Shaheds whooshing above the rooftops still unsettles but no longer terrifies.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrifies
Verb
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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
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What specifically frightens you?—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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While the odor scares lots of people off, there are ways to minimize it.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As the dolphin gets closer to the glass, the Chihuahua lets out a bark that startles the dolphin, who then starts mimicking the dog's mouth movements in a sort of chasing game across species.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrifies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifies. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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