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terrify

American  
[ter-uh-fahy] / ˈtɛr əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

terrified, terrifying

  1. to fill with terror or alarm; make greatly afraid.

terrify British  
/ ˈtɛrɪˌfaɪ /

verb

  1. (tr) to inspire fear or dread in; frighten greatly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See frighten.

Other Word Forms

  • terrifier noun
  • terrifyingly adverb
  • unterrified adjective
  • unterrifying adjective

Etymology

Origin of terrify

1565–75; < Latin terrificāre, equivalent to terr ( ēre ) to frighten + -ificāre -ify

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.