terrify
Fill with horror
To terrify is to fill with terror—intense, overwhelming fear.
The word implies more than ordinary fright; something that terrifies produces a visceral, paralyzing dread: The thought of speaking in public terrifies me.
Terrifying describes things that inspire such fear: a terrifying scream, terrifying news.
Terrified describes the state of experiencing it: The children were terrified during the storm.
Cause sudden alarm
- scareCause sudden fright
- spookApparition or frighten
- startleFrighten suddenly
- petrifyFossilize or paralyze utterly
horrify · alarm · intimidate · menace · threaten · traumatize · haunt · unnerve
Emotional response to threat
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- horrorExtreme fear or disgust
- frightSudden intense fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
apprehension · trepidation · anxiety · foreboding · unease · phobia · fearfulness · misgiving
Instill fear to control
- bullyHabitual intimidator
- coerceObtain by intimidation
- threatenPromise harm or punishment
- menaceSource of potential harm
cow · browbeat · tyrannize · oppress · dominate · overpower · strong-arm · pressure
Disturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- chillingCausing fear or cold
- unsettlingCausing unease or discomfort
- dauntingDiscouraging through difficulty
sinister · macabre · ominous · hair-raising · spine-tingling · bloodcurdling · nightmarish · gothic
frighten
Cause sudden alarm
petrify · horrify · alarm · intimidate · menace · threaten · traumatize · haunt · unnerve · disturb
fear
Emotional response to threat
panic · apprehension · trepidation · anxiety · foreboding · unease · phobia · fearfulness · misgiving · jitters
intimidate
Instill fear to control
menace · cow · browbeat · tyrannize · oppress · dominate · overpower · strong-arm · pressure · subjugate
eerie
Disturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
- chillingCausing fear or cold
- unsettlingCausing unease or discomfort
daunting · sinister · macabre · ominous · hair-raising · spine-tingling · bloodcurdling · nightmarish · gothic · eldritch
monster
Frightening imaginary creature
stalker · abductor · demon · ghost · specter · apparition · poltergeist · creature · beast · psychopath
- intimidationthreats, threatening, menacing, intimidate, bullying
- scare tacticsfrighten, intimidate, threaten, menace, alarm
- fear reactionsscream, scared, gasp, flinch, panicked
- I feel terribleExpression of distress
- terrible twosChallenging toddler developmental stage
- something terribleA very bad thing
- Ivan the TerribleRussia's first tsar
- terrible lizard
- beyond terrible
terrible, terrific, terrifying, terrified, terrifies, terribleness