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
Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
That was a terrifying last four days.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
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
The movie features an all-star ensemble, including Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Nick Offerman (as well as Dunst's real-life husband, Jesse Plemons, in a terrifying confrontation sequence).
—Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
That was a terrifying last four days.
—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
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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Thunderstorms and lightning, very very frightening.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Since the release of 2013's The Conjuring, the frightening franchise has generally lost steam at the box office.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Unlike other security systems that passively report break-ins to customers or police, Sauron security agents are constantly monitoring to provide real-time incident responses such as watching and scaring away a would-be robber via their speaker system.—
Victoria Feng,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Wednesday takes Enid’s Driver’s Ed lesson to go there, scaring the instructor.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Building a new company is scary and comes with high risks, but these organizations are proving that success is always possible, and age is just a number.—
Claire Dodds,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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And production budgets are usually modest, making for some scary-good profit margins.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yes, this Jaguars pass rush is formidable; Josh Hines-Allen is no joke.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Sep. 2025
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With the Chiefs appearing more vulnerable in a season coming off a Super Bowl trouncing, Buffalo—which opens its 2025 campaign Sunday night at home against another formidable foe, the Baltimore Ravens—is poised for a breakthrough.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But that spring, my mental health wasn’t in a good place thanks to the volatile combination of two years of pandemic lockdown, switching my antidepressants, my undiagnosed ADHD and a horrible case of writer's block.—
Alison Cochrun,
People.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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The Succession Wars took a much darker turn thanks to the development of not just Battlemechs but of horrible flesh and steel monsters called abominations.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Overall, this wasn’t a terrible episode, but having our heroes start in the UK and then end up in Spain in the first episode felt rushed and wasteful.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Both men are good, both men are bad and both men have made terrible mistakes.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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For starters, the Nittany Lions play their home games at Beaver Stadium, which can be an intimidating place with seating for 106,572 fans.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
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The easier tasks are less intimidating and will help build your confidence to work on something more challenging in the future.—
Keenan Thompson,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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