as in to frighten
to strike with fear
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
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Recent Examples of terrify
Fassbender’s calling card is his intensity, which exposes the raw humanity of his characters—or something terrifying within them that doesn’t feel human at all.
—
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Watch Krampus on Peacock The Lodge A happy holiday turns cold when two children are snowed in during Christmas at a remote winter cabin with their soon-to-be stepmother (Riley Keough), whose visions of her cultist past trigger terrifying behavior for the three in this 2019 horror thriller.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024
As a mother of three daughters, I am terrified by how this technology has been used to exploit teenagers.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
Do these mushrooms leave you more awe-struck than terrified?
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrify 
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Watch Krampus on Peacock The Lodge A happy holiday turns cold when two children are snowed in during Christmas at a remote winter cabin with their soon-to-be stepmother (Riley Keough), whose visions of her cultist past trigger terrifying behavior for the three in this 2019 horror thriller.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024
As a mother of three daughters, I am terrified by how this technology has been used to exploit teenagers.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
Do these mushrooms leave you more awe-struck than terrified?
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
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Marina, frightened, fled the spa, almost leaving behind her shirt, and spent the next hour looking over her shoulder to see whether the woman had, in fact, called someone.—
Keith Gessen,
The New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2025
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Some frightened residents even abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area, fleeing on foot from the engulfing blaze.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA TODAY,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Even in an off-year, Mahomes still scares the heck out of me as a Bills’ fan.—
Harry Enten,
CNN,
11 Jan. 2025
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Consider the teams that might have been scared away by that kind of uncertainty.—
Grant Brisbee,
The Athletic,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The most recent superintendent was basically run out of the job in June after startling dysfunction in the central administration was uncovered.—
Alan J. Borsuk,
Journal Sentinel,
27 Dec. 2024
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More on Axios: PR's misguided metrics Israeli intelligence sees growing chance Assad's forces collapse in Syria Israeli intelligence officials have been startled by a faster-than-expected collapse of the Syrian army's defense lines over the last 24 hours, two senior Israeli officials tell Axios.—
Eleanor Hawkins,
Axios,
5 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near terrify
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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