terrify

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)

To frighten greatly; to fill with terror.
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, […]
(obsolete) To make terrible.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:frighten

Related terms

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
Marathi: घाबरवणे (ghābravṇe)
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)

English