French word

terrifier

Pronunciation

IPA/tɛʁifje/

Meaning

  • verbscare

Example

Ne me terrifie pas comme ça !

Don't scare me like that!

Illustration for terrifier (scare)

More examples

Il ne faut pas terrifier les enfants.

You must not terrify the children.

Core concept

A sudden wave of fear hits someone so hard that the person freezes.

Common phrases

  • terrifier quelqu'un

    terrify someone

Similar words

faire peur: To cause fear in another person.
effrayer: To startle someone and make them feel afraid.

Definition in French

Provoquer chez quelqu'un une peur intense et soudaine, au point de le paralyser.

Word origin

French terrifier comes from Latin terrificare, a causative form related to terrere, 'to frighten', and shares this root family with French terreur and English terrify.

Usage tips

  • Terrifier takes a direct object, so the pattern is terrifier quelqu'un rather than terrifier à quelqu'un.

Other meanings

  • terrifyverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word