as in to frighten
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 terrify
Companies are terrified that early-stage AI will disappoint their end customers.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2025
And, essentially, terrified of women.
—David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025
The latest episode featured Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) continuing his horrific hobby of terrifying the town's children, feeling unstoppable after escaping capture.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025
As a child, he must be terrified.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2025
And, essentially, terrified of women.
—David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025
The latest episode featured Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) continuing his horrific hobby of terrifying the town's children, feeling unstoppable after escaping capture.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025
As a child, he must be terrified.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
-
These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to redefine reality and to convince our neighbors that this new age is something that should frighten them.—
TIME Video,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
After scaring off the animal, one of the hikers, a physician, attempted to revive Kovatch, but did not find a pulse.—
Outside,
Outside,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Don’t let the tackiness of this primer scare you.—
Michelle Baricevic,
InStyle,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Jamie, the dog-sitter, is startled that Pam is back so soon.—
Allegra Goodman,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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