verb · informal
terrify
UK/ˈterɪfaɪ/US/ˈtɛrɪfaɪ/TER·ri·fy
Band 6-7speakingtask2
to cause someone to feel extreme fear
Examples
“The loud crash terrified the children.”
“The idea of failing the exam terrifies him.”
“The sudden storm terrified the hikers on the ridge.”
Band 8 sentence
“The testimony of the survivor was so vivid that it terrified even seasoned investigators.”
Collocations
- be terrified of
- terrify someone
- terrifying experience
Word family
terrify verbterrified adjectiveterrifying adjective
Common mistakes
terrify with→terrify someone
be terror of→be terrified of
it terrifies me to→it terrifies me to think that...
Say it for a higher band
5scare→6frighten→7+terrify
Synonyms
frighten
horrify
Easily confused
horrify
“The graphic images horrified the viewers.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ify
Learn it with its set