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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of terrify
Being terrified is baseline for a founder of a startup.
—
Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
According to her pet profile, Bentley was brought into the shelter in January 2024, and was utterly terrified.
—Tj MacIas, Kansas City Star, 24 Feb. 2025
Two Iranian families, converts to Christianity, gathered in this room, all but one person terrified of letting their faces be seen.
—Federico Rios, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
On the military plane ride from California to Panama, Mona, a 32-year-old Iranian Christian convert, said her 8-year-old son cried, terrified to see his parents shackled.
—Julie Turkewitz, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
According to her pet profile, Bentley was brought into the shelter in January 2024, and was utterly terrified.
—Tj MacIas, Kansas City Star, 24 Feb. 2025
Two Iranian families, converts to Christianity, gathered in this room, all but one person terrified of letting their faces be seen.
—Federico Rios, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
On the military plane ride from California to Panama, Mona, a 32-year-old Iranian Christian convert, said her 8-year-old son cried, terrified to see his parents shackled.
—Julie Turkewitz, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
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On the streets, conservative protesters, frightened that the left could win the next election, have rallied to Yoon.—
ROBERT E. KELLY,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2025
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That frightened stray kitten forgot her fears and moved up on that ball of paper and batted it across the floor and then batted it again.—
Carole Wendt,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In 2023, a bear barged into a bakery in Avon, scared employees and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before ambling away.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
1 Mar. 2025
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Wise infuses a nurturing maturity and vulnerability in Nicole that scares Roger, and challenges him to confront his unhealthy relationship habits and general indecisiveness.—
Morgan A. Grain,
Essence,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Lilian, startled, looked around at the door, and that made the sisters laugh: Lilian, too, was tricked, just like the hedgehog.—
Yiyun Li,
The New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2025
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Homelessness and trauma can cause people to startle reflexively when touched, Greig says, part of the reason the site’s staff offers hugs to clients and encourages them to call family.—
Ian Willms,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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