🇫🇷French Source WordCode: FR

terrifier

Pronunciation / Transliteration: tɛʁifiɛ

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Terrify/ˈtɛr.ɪ.faɪ/
verbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
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🇫🇷 Example Sentence in French:

"Le film d'horreur était conçu pour terrifier son public."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb
  1. 1

    To cause someone to feel extreme fear.

    "The horror movie was designed to terrify its audience."
  2. 2

    To frighten someone greatly.

    "The sudden thunderstorm terrified the children."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The word 'terrify' originates from the Latin 'terrificare', which means 'to frighten'. It evolved through Middle English, where it was influenced by the Old French 'terrefier', reflecting a historical shift in usage from a general sense of fear to a more intense form of fright.

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