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
Seth Carnell, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
For New Orleans’s Latino residents, his presence was terrifying.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 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
The dog had been spooked the previous night and wandered into the darkness, spending a terrifying 24 hours in the frozen Canadian wilderness.
—Seth Carnell, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
For New Orleans’s Latino residents, his presence was terrifying.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 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
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The idea of frightening children into basic courtesy scares Miss Manners.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
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Facing the future may mean confronting difficult questions and frightening scenarios.—
Kat McGowan,
NPR,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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At the time, local hunters blamed the Ping for scaring away game.—
Andrew Coletti,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Wallner and second baseman Luke Keaschall had a scary collision in the eighth inning on a pop fly to right by Salvador Perez that Keaschall caught.—
David Brown,
Twin Cities,
30 Mar. 2026
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Especially one that features Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, Val Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy, all at the same time, a legitimately scary roster that goes four lines and two goaltenders deep.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some cyclists sped by pretty quickly, startling us and our dog.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Yahoo will be competing against a familiar foil in Google, which remains the same formidable force that spelled the company's demise 20 years ago and has been progressively layering more AI into its search engine with its Gemini technology.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Then finding the players who can execute them has made UConn the sport’s most formidable force.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This is going to be a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
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In another case, a 10-year-old girl contracted horrible lesions on 10 percent of her body — mostly on her legs — after contact with giant hogweed.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But Kardashian celebrated its terrible reviews, and the series was renewed for a second season.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2026
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One hundred fifteen years later, a memorial to the workers who died reveals itself as a reminder that workers’ rights were purchased at a terrible cost, and that the lives lost there still ask something of us.—
Christina Ray Stanton,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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As played by John Lithgow, Dahl is an intimidating physical presence, and, as if on the playground, uses this looming quality, along with a facility for language, to intimidate anyone around him.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
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As trendy as the weight room might be these days, the world of barbells and dumbbells can be a pretty intimidating place.—
Jennifer Heimlich,
SELF,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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