as in frightening
causing fear
heard a terrifying noise coming from the next room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scaring
to strike with fear
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terrifying
Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026
Then comes a terrifying phone call claiming his son has been kidnapped.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Mar. 2026
Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
That’s terrifying on a whole different level.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Adjective
That was a terrifying last four days.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026
Then comes a terrifying phone call claiming his son has been kidnapped.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
Like the strung-up coyotes, the Ghoul typically looks normal from afar but terrifying up close.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
That’s terrifying on a whole different level.
—Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrifying
Adjective
-
While any leukemia diagnosis is frightening, the prognosis for hairy cell leukemia is generally excellent with treatment, Tsarwhas, the LFH oncology director, noted.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
-
The risk of crew loss during the Apollo moon missions was a rather frightening 1 in 10, according to the OIG report.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ten points to Gryffindor for Bree shooting and subsequently scaring the bear away.—
Lincee Ray,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Effectively scaring a bear also reinforces the person as dominant in an encounter, so the bear learns to avoid people.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Certainly, that off feeling had to do with some very scary changes across the film and media industries, where many people feel doomed to lose their jobs.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2026
-
This time, though, the scary skeleton was gone.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Saturday, startling his sister.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Combined with their high reproduction rate, containment is a formidable challenge for state wildlife managers.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The task was formidable, but not because of Moy Sing’s lack of wealth or social prominence.—
Charlotte Brooks,
Big Think,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Arsenal, like Chelsea and City, have that horrible Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday schedule to contend with.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
-
At this point, however, this news is neither insignificant nor horrible.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
As compiled by Gnostics, who consider the material world to be a fundamentally terrible place.—
Jay Martel,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The Astros’ young second baseman, Jose Altuve, was making waves, Fisher remembered, yet the club still looked terrible.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In the near future, keeping tabs on your digestive health may feel far less intimidating.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The willful Sun teams up with joyous Jupiter to energize your domestic zone and your intimidating 8th house.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
