Synonyms for terrifying
- adjective
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
1. Frightening — frightening or intimidating
frightening, alarming, scary, horrifying, hair-raising, fearful, macabre, shocking, gruesome, terrible, petrifying, horrible, ghastly, formidable, grisly, horrid, pulse-pounding, horrific, frightful, dreadful, grim, hideous
Other
terrific dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Frightening or intimidating.
Related words
- Word family
- terrifyingly terrify terror
Example sentences
- scary Was it scary for you to live in the United States?
- frightening I was terrified of receiving a frightening answer.
- alarming The Gobi Desert is expanding at an alarming rate.
- horrifying Santiago told Rima about his horrifying discovery.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| terrifying | rising | |
| scary | rising | |
| frightening | rising | |
| alarming | steady | |
| horrifying | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- grim1
- 5 letters
- scary2
- 6 letters
- horrid2, grisly2
- 7 letters
- fearful2, hideous3, ghastly2, macabre3
- 8 letters
- terrible3, horrible3, shocking2, terrific3, horrific3, dreadful2, alarming3, gruesome2
- 9 letters
- frightful2
- 10 letters
- formidable4, horrifying4, petrifying
- 11 letters
- frightening3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (scary2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- terrifiant
- Italiano
- terrificante
- Español
- terrorífico