as in frightening
causing fear
heard a terrifying noise coming from the next room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scaring
to strike with fear
the prospect of speaking in front of a huge crowd of people absolutely terrifies me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of terrifying
Dan Shanoff, New York Times, 22 May 2025
The terrifying incident occurred on the 600 block of Stratford Avenue in Woodbury Heights, a suburb in the southwestern part of New Jersey.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 21 May 2025
Yes, phishing attacks with emails that perfectly replicate the style, imagery and typeface of a major brand or organization are a terrifying new threat to email users, but not calling back the number in one of those emails is the simplest possible mitigation.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
The family eventually crosses paths with a corrupt theme-park operator (John Ortiz), his sheriff (Colin Hanks) and a terrifying crime boss (Sharon Stone) before chaos ensues.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Adjective
And arriving at the studio the next day to tape the show was terrifying, largely manifesting as flop sweat.
—Dan Shanoff, New York Times, 22 May 2025
The terrifying incident occurred on the 600 block of Stratford Avenue in Woodbury Heights, a suburb in the southwestern part of New Jersey.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 21 May 2025
Yes, phishing attacks with emails that perfectly replicate the style, imagery and typeface of a major brand or organization are a terrifying new threat to email users, but not calling back the number in one of those emails is the simplest possible mitigation.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
The family eventually crosses paths with a corrupt theme-park operator (John Ortiz), his sheriff (Colin Hanks) and a terrifying crime boss (Sharon Stone) before chaos ensues.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrifying
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrifying
Adjective
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The ensuing action is gory and frightening — and even Wong got a little spooked by Hawkins.—
Eric Andersson,
People.com,
31 May 2025
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This is incredibly damaging to career prospects and, given how little knowledge exists in mainstream medical and occupational health circles, can feel confusing and frightening for those who don’t know where to turn for advice.—
Nancy Doyle,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Make that the second scariest, as Claire’s antics bring another menacing character into their lives, when her dealer, Jackie (Domhnall Gleeson), shows up at Echo Valley looking for 10 grand in heroin.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
7 June 2025
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Both events offer live entertainment, themed food, and access to select park attractions with generally shorter wait times than during the day How scary is Universal Halloween Horror Nights?—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Sinha’s strategic interventions have substantially scaled up businesses, powering a formidable sales pipeline by assisting the company in landing enterprise-level engagements.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
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Everything points to the fact that Karolína’s exceptional talent has caught the attention of the formidable and much admired choirmaster.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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Even with the horrible start the Red Sox still nearly came all the way back, twice drawing to within one run, but the club couldn’t get over the hump.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2025
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Even on a horrible team, someone has to score, get rebounds and assists.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Kids these days have attention spans crushed under the terrible weight of TikTok and Instgram.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps better than any other source of encouragement, parents can make counseling appear less intimidating and more important.—
Eric Wood,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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The Cosmos, like its namesake, is nothing if not enormous and intimidating.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrifying. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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