terrify

verb

ter·​ri·​fy ˈter-ə-ˌfī How to pronounce terrify (audio)
ˈte-rə-
terrified; terrifying

transitive verb

1
a
: to drive or impel by menacing : scare
2
: to fill with terror

Examples of terrify in a Sentence

The thought of dying alone terrifies her. the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
At first, the girls are only in danger of being forced to listen to one man’s extremely pretentious opinions about religion, philosophy, culture, and yes, pop music, which is terrifying in itself. Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2024 As an American Jew, that kind of language terrifies me. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024 Dastmalchian gets to play it all — disbelief, arrogance, grieving, terrified — sometimes in the same moment. Jenelle Riley, Variety, 31 Oct. 2024 Union leaders were terrified by the prospect that Boeing would build the plane elsewhere, with nonunion workers. David Koenig, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for terrify 

Word History

Etymology

Latin terrificare, from terrificus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of terrify was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near terrify

Cite this Entry

“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrify. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

terrify

verb
ter·​ri·​fy ˈter-ə-ˌfī How to pronounce terrify (audio)
terrified; terrifying
: to fill with terror
terrifyingly
-ˌfī-iŋ-lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on terrify

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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