Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To fill with terror; make deeply afraid: synonym: frighten.
  • transitive verb To drive or force by arousing fear.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make afraid; strike with fear; affect or fill with terror; frighten; alarm.
  • To make terrible.
  • Synonyms To scare, horrify, appal, daunt. See afraid.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To make terrible.
  • transitive verb To alarm or shock with fear; to frighten.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To frighten greatly; to fill with terror.
  • verb To menace or intimidate.
  • verb obsolete To make terrible.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb fill with terror; frighten greatly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin terrificāre, from terrificus, terrific; see terrific.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin terrificare

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Examples

  • It used the term "climate porn" to describe what it categorized as alarmist language on climate issues meant to "thrill" and "terrify" - but which failed to encourage meaningful action.

    Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories 2009

  • Charlie Cook recently wrote that Congress 'current poll numbers should "terrify" them, especially as they continue to lose support among the all-important independent voting bloc.

    Cornyn expresses optimism, caution on 2010 2009

  • Condoleezza Rice urged Qurei to back down during their July 29 meeting in Washington, saying his statements "terrify" Livni.

    latimes.com - News 2011

  • The next day Clarke and Stewart came up with a plan, which Stewart later said was to meant to "terrify" their victim.

    BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition 2009

  • If he refuses to "terrify" the child by telling him the truth, does this mean he will tell the child a white lie? vii) BTW, isn't it overstated to suggest it's always abusive to scare children?

    Triablogue 2009

  • By the end of the twentieth century, those three letters would annually terrify not only new crops of U.S. high school students, but scores of thousands of nonnative users of English taking the examination in hundreds of countries and territories, all hoping to pursue higher education in the heartland of Global English.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • By the end of the twentieth century, those three letters would annually terrify not only new crops of U.S. high school students, but scores of thousands of nonnative users of English taking the examination in hundreds of countries and territories, all hoping to pursue higher education in the heartland of Global English.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • The press is trying to terrify celebrities into not using Twitter.

    Russell Crowe "Very Sorry" for Circumcision Comments 2011

  • Lancaster's first – and possibly last – Six Nations squad may not necessarily terrify the French, the Welsh, the Irish or the Scots but opponents would be correct to sense that the days of English complacency are over.

    Stuart Lancaster has reinvigorated England's Six Nations outlook 2012

  • I've been exercising a lot – running and doing Bikram yoga and all the things I've been avoiding in the past 10 years – because wearing 1940s bikinis on stage is enough to terrify anyone into submission.

    Samantha Womack: 'The grittier elements in South Pacific often get lost' 2011

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