# terrific

Pronunciation: US say "tuh-RIF-ik" /təˈɹɪfɪk/; UK

## Adjective

1. Extremely good; excellent or amazing.
   - Simple: Very good, so good that it makes you happy or impressed.
   - _The new restaurant has gotten terrific reviews in its first month._
   - _She did a terrific job organizing the fundraiser on such short notice._
2. Very strong or intense; tremendous in force, speed, or degree.
   - Simple: Very strong or powerful, like a loud noise or a hard hit.
   - _The train was moving at terrific speed when it passed the station._
   - _A terrific explosion shook windows across the entire neighborhood._

## Adjective

3. Causing terror; terrible or dreadful; sometimes sublime or awe-inspiring in its greatness. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Causing great fear because it is so big or powerful.

## Origin

From French terrifique and its source, Latin terrificus ("terrifying"), from terrere ("to frighten, terrify") plus -ficus, from facere ("to make"). The "excellent, amazing" sense is a positive shift from the original "terrifying" meaning, similar to what happened with words like sick and wicked.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/terrific (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).