as in frightening
causing fear
heard a terrifying noise coming from the next room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of terrifying
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 May 2025
Featuring terrifying real spiders and set in a Parisian housing project with a fresh young cast including breakout actor Theo Christine, the movie became an instant genre classic and was bought by IFC’s Shudder for multiple territories, including North America.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 8 May 2025
Alisha Weir stars as the whip-smart Matilda Wormwood, who escapes her awful parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) by disappearing into books and finding a friend in Lashana Lynch’s sweet Miss Honey at her terrifying new school.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 7 May 2025
To cut yourself off from people is to lose your connection and way in a glorious, terrifying world.
—Mary Frances Ruskell, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Adjective
Hanrahan commends her for bravery and quick thinking, but the real message of the scene — besides the terrifying evolution of the cordyceps infection — is that Sgt.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 May 2025
Featuring terrifying real spiders and set in a Parisian housing project with a fresh young cast including breakout actor Theo Christine, the movie became an instant genre classic and was bought by IFC’s Shudder for multiple territories, including North America.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 8 May 2025
Alisha Weir stars as the whip-smart Matilda Wormwood, who escapes her awful parents (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough) by disappearing into books and finding a friend in Lashana Lynch’s sweet Miss Honey at her terrifying new school.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 7 May 2025
To cut yourself off from people is to lose your connection and way in a glorious, terrifying world.
—Mary Frances Ruskell, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrifying
Adjective
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And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
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Major cities like New York were already facing frightening death tolls that climbed higher each day—but that’s not what Eddington is about.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Every celebrity — no matter how small — had at least one stalker or someone obsessed with them, and no fan was creepier or scarier than the ones obsessed with child stars.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
14 May 2025
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Here’s a scary scenario: You’ve been put in charge of air traffic control at Newark airport near New York.—
Steve Nadis,
Quanta Magazine,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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Tom and Rhyan make a formidable duo on the right side of the line and Jenkins will move to center after spending most of his career at left guard.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
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Selling a descent from stress into a state of devastation that can never be shed (only briefly reprised) is the formidable actress Parinaz Izadyar.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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However, her tragic demise spooks and haunts Jen, since her death is incredibly horrible and sad, rocking the whole Capesode community.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
14 May 2025
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Jurors viewed for a fifth time in two days the video footage of the horrible beating that followed.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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One night the fish was very overcooked and covered with a terrible sauce.—
Sheah Rarback,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2025
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Djokovic knew he’d be seeded to play one of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev or Taylor Fritz in the quarters, and in the end landed Zverev, which isn’t a terrible outcome, but would leave him with a possible Sinner-Alcaraz double bill in the semifinals and final to lift the trophy.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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In places where higher education was all but a miraculous dream, the act of reading can be intimidating, exclusionary, not to mention unaffordable for people who spend their days working two to three jobs and twelve-hour shifts.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
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Hussain has a friendly, reassuring presence, making the already-simple recipes even less intimidating.—
Katie Rife,
EW.com,
11 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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