terrify

English

Alternative forms

• terrifie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French terrifier, from Latin terrificare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛɹɪfaɪ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Verb

terrify (third-person singular simple present terrifies, present participle terrifying, simple past and past participle terrified)

1. To frighten greatly; to fill with terror.
2. To menace or intimidate.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

     Your men are valiant but their number few,
     And cannot terrifie his mightie hoſt, […]

3. (obsolete) To make terrible.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frighten

Related terms

• terrible
• terrific
• terrifying
• terror
• terrorist
• terrorize

 

Translations

to frighten greatly; to fill with terror

• Bulgarian: плаша (bg) (plaša), ужасявам (bg) (užasjavam)
• Catalan: aterrir (ca), terroritzar (ca)
• Esperanto: teruri
• Finnish: kauhistuttaa (fi), pelottaa (fi)
• French: terrifier (fr)
• Georgian: შეძრწუნება (šeʒrc̣uneba), დაშინება (dašineba), დაზაფრვა (dazaprva)
• German: erschrecken (de)
• Greek: τρομάζω (el) (tromázo), κατατρομάζω (el) (katatromázo)

  Ancient: πτοέω (ptoéō)

• Italian: terrorizzare (it)
• Latin: terreō
• Maori: whakaihi
• Portuguese: aterrorizar (pt)
• Romanian: înspăimânta (ro)
• Russian: ужаса́ть (ru) impf (užasátʹ), ужасну́ть (ru) pf (užasnútʹ)
• Slovene: prestrašiti (sl)
• Spanish: aterrar (es)
• Tagalog: sindakin
• Turkish: dehşete düşürmek (tr)

to menace or intimidate

• Bulgarian: заплашвам (bg) (zaplašvam)
• Finnish: pelottaa (fi)
• Greek: τρομοκρατώ (el) (tromokrató)
• Russian: запу́гивать (ru) impf (zapúgivatʹ), запуга́ть (ru) pf (zapugátʹ)
• Turkish: gözünü korkutmak (tr), yıldırmak (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Old English: ^{(please verify)} eġesian
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} భయభ్రాంతి కలుగు (bhayabhrānti kalugu)