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
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2026
A lot of places on this planet—hellscapes where people are warring, starving, and living under terrifying repression—might benefit from forceful intervention.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
For the rest of the country, local governments would be better off slashing the personal income tax rates that are terrifying voters into fleeing for red state residences.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Adjective
Angelina Jolie has visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing to see up close the terrifying humanitarian crisis impacting Gaza.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2026
A lot of places on this planet—hellscapes where people are warring, starving, and living under terrifying repression—might benefit from forceful intervention.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
Verb
The tonal whiplash you experience at that point, the sense that Barbarian can be genuinely terrifying one moment and weirdly funny the next, is what transformed the film into a cult hit.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
For the rest of the country, local governments would be better off slashing the personal income tax rates that are terrifying voters into fleeing for red state residences.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrifying
Adjective
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Experts immediately pointed out that Hassett had used a misleading method known as a cubic fit to make the mortality data appear less frightening.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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When the sun went down, the Santa Anas began to blow, and the fire shifted into the familiar, frightening rhythm of inevitability.—
Jonathan Taplin,
Rolling Stone,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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More to the point, here are two industries still suffering the effects of high inflation, and two areas where that’s scaring customers away.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
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Like, scaring kids is important.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Fascinating albeit kinda scary to watch though.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Kim also recalled her mother allegedly threatening her father’s life, and on one scary occasion, Betty drove her car into the new home Dan shared with their children.—
Alex Gurley,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In a follow-up video, the owner revealed a gentle method for waking the puppy without startling her.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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As the day wears on, the crowd swells to a formidable throng.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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If host Point Loma was going to stay unbeaten and advance to the Division 1 quarterfinal with a win over Mater Dei Catholic on Friday night, Pointers head coach Ryan Price was sure his formidable defense would have a major hand in it.—
Kevin J. Farmer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Are there horrible smells wafting around?—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
7 Jan. 2026
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Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Kingpin is one of its offerings this year, an intimidating V-8 monster that makes over 800 horsepower and is blacked out.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
5 Nov. 2025
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The podcast is meant to do some of the bedtime planning for parents, taking an intimidating task off their plate.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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