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
Supporters — many of them wearing Colombia’s yellow and red colors — rushed the gates at the home stadium of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the rush.
—
ABC News,
26 June 2026
In La Guaira, entire sections of Catia la Mar remained without electricity on Thursday after many residents spent Wednesday night sleeping in streets, cars or near damaged buildings, terrified of further collapses.
—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2026
The staff is terrified about their future, particularly chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), traumatized by her last stint of unemployment.
—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
This is a necessary evil of the apron era, with teams terrified of going into the first- and second-apron payroll thresholds to retain their rosters.
—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrify
ABC News,
26 June 2026
In La Guaira, entire sections of Catia la Mar remained without electricity on Thursday after many residents spent Wednesday night sleeping in streets, cars or near damaged buildings, terrified of further collapses.
—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2026
The staff is terrified about their future, particularly chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), traumatized by her last stint of unemployment.
—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
This is a necessary evil of the apron era, with teams terrified of going into the first- and second-apron payroll thresholds to retain their rosters.
—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrify
Verb
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At the time of writing, as the Marine Traffic map shows, tanker traffic is barely moving through the Strait, and many ships, unable to obtain insurance or with their owners frightened at the level of risk involved, are refusing to advance.
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But because the president has frightened Congress, Congress doesn’t raise its voice when the president puts his Albert Speer–like building project, or intends to, on Congress’s land.
Verb
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There was one American flag sign lit, with some storefront decor gleaming red, white and blue, but the heat seemingly scared most away from celebrating July 4 before Saturday's big day.
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Johnson says Monday was her first time on the Wild Mouse attraction; however, the experience did not scare her away from the park.
Verb
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The mobile phone alert startled many across the city-state of Dubai, the first such alert since the interim ceasefire.
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Lansley said she has been startled by how chatbots can appear to display emotional intelligence.
Cite this Entry
“Terrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrify. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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