What does terrifying mean?
Terrifying is an adjective meaning so frightening that it causes extreme fear, dread, or alarm. It is used for people, events, places, sounds, and possibilities that inspire unusually strong apprehension, often because the perceived danger is immediate, overwhelming, or hard to understand. In everyday language, “terrifying” is more forceful and dramatic than “frightening”: a mildly unsettling noise might be called frightening, while a violent storm or a genuinely life-threatening situation may be called terrifying. The word can also suggest helplessness or dread rather than ordinary nervousness. It appears frequently in journalism, personal accounts, reviews, and descriptions of dangerous experiences, though its intensity makes it less suitable than “frightening” in restrained or purely factual writing. Terrifying ultimately belongs to a family of English words derived from the Latin verb terrere, “to frighten,” including terror, terrible, and terrify.
adjectiveCausing extreme fear or dread; deeply frightening.
- Causing extreme fear, dread, or alarm.
"The descent into the cave was terrifying, with every shadow seeming alive."
"The storm was absolutely terrifying."
"Historians described the prospect of another world war as terrifying."
Terrifying shares its roots with terror and terrible: it is the language of fear made absolutely undeniable.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does terrifying come from?
Terrifying was formed from terrify with the present-participle ending -ing and belongs to a larger English word family based on Latin terrere, “to frighten.” The related words terror and terrible also trace their histories to Latin forms associated with fear. Terrify itself combines terrere with the verbal suffix -fy, while Latin horrificus, the source of horrific, similarly conveys the idea of causing terror.
Related word forms
How terrifying is actually used
Terrifying is neutral in register but strongly expressive; it is generally more intense than frightening and can be especially effective when describing experiences that overwhelm ordinary feelings of nervousness or apprehension.
Easily confused with terrifying
Terrifying means extremely frightening, whereas terrific usually means excellent or exceptionally impressive.