What does terrify mean?
Terrify is a transitive verb meaning to frighten someone so intensely that fear or dread dominates their reaction. It is stronger than the ordinary verb frighten and may describe the immediate effect of danger, violence, alarming news, or an overwhelming prospect: “The sudden crash terrified everyone in the building.” The word can be used in active or passive constructions, as in “She was terrified of speaking in public,” and is often followed by a person, place, or experience that causes the fear. Although terrify can suggest profound but temporary fright, its force comes from the intensity of the emotion rather than from any medical or permanent meaning. In figurative use, it describes something so threatening, surprising, or difficult that it produces a visceral sense of fear. For writers seeking a strong but standard verb, terrify conveys alarm more emphatically than frighten while remaining clearer and more conventional than exaggerated alternatives such as petrify. It is equally natural in British and American English, though careful prose benefits from using it only when the degree of fear genuinely warrants emphasis.
verbTo frighten someone so intensely that they experience extreme fear or dread. It can be used literally or figuratively to describe something alarming, threatening, or overwhelming.
- To cause extreme fear or dread in someone.
"The possibility of being left alone in the darkness terrified the child."
"The report of a serious outbreak terrified residents across the region."
"She was terrified of making a mistake during her first interview."
Terrify comes from the same Latin root as terror: both trace back to terrere, “to frighten.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does terrify come from?
Terrify was formed in the early 17th century from Latin terrere, meaning “to frighten,” with influence from the French verb terrifier. The same Latin root produced English words including terror, terrible, and terrific. Its meaning has remained fundamentally unchanged: it describes the act of causing intense fear.
Related word forms
How terrify is actually used
Terrify is a standard, emotionally forceful verb used in formal and informal contexts. It is generally stronger than frighten, implying a more profound reaction, and is commonly used in the passive construction “be terrified of” or “be terrified to do something.”
Easily confused with terrify
Terrific is an adjective that usually means extremely good, whereas terrify is a verb meaning to cause extreme fear.