Terrified

How to spell terrified

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce terrified

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does terrified mean?

1. adjectiveFeeling extreme fear or dread.
2. verbPast tense of terrify: caused someone to feel extreme fear.

Terrified in a sentence

• adjective

  She was terrified of flying and avoided long-haul trips.

• verb

  The sudden crash of glass terrified everyone in the office.

• adjective

  The loud thunder left the children terrified and unable to sleep.

• verb

  The horror film terrified the whole audience.

Where does terrified come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb terrere, which literally meant 'to frighten' or 'to fill with dread'. From it Latin formed terrificare, 'to cause terror', combining terrere with facere, 'to make', and that gave English the verb terrify in the sixteenth century. The same Latin root sits behind a whole family of related words, including 'terror', 'terrible', 'terrific' (which once meant 'causing terror' before softening into 'wonderful'), and 'deter', literally 'to frighten away'. The doubled r in 'terrified' comes straight from the Latin spelling terrere, and that double letter, followed by the -ified ending, is the main thing writers have to keep straight. Once you remember the link to 'terror', the two r's feel natural rather than arbitrary.

How the word is built

• terr- (from Latin terrere: to frighten)
• -ify (to make or cause)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)