terrifying

1. 1
   adjective

   So frightening or intimidating that it fills someone with dread.

   Like the jolt of dread when the ground shakes beneath you in an earthquake.

   The roar of the approaching wildfire was terrifying, even from a distance.

   Few experiences are more terrifying than losing control of a car on ice.

   Similarfrightening, alarming, horrifying, dreadful, horrific

   Oppositereassuring, comforting, soothing, calming

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of terrify.

   The masked figure kept terrifying the campers throughout the night.

   Reports of the outbreak were terrifying the public for weeks.

   Note

   The verb behind the adjective, built from terrify, which means to frighten greatly or to menace. After a form of be it makes the progressive (the storm was terrifying the village). In noun positions it is a gerund (terrifying small children is cruel). To tell it from the adjective, look for an object: the verb takes one. Only the adjective accepts more or very, as in a more terrifying night.

3. 3
   adjective

   Possessing a formidable, awe-inspiring quality; impressively great in scale or force; terrific.

   Like the raw force of a rocket at liftoff, overwhelming in its sheer power.

   The orchestra performed with terrifying precision and raw energy.

   The new engine produces a terrifying amount of horsepower.

   Similarformidable, tremendous, awesome, staggering, fearsome

   Note

   Here the word praises rather than warns. It grew out of the frightening meaning and still leans on it: the compliment works by suggesting a force so great it could almost alarm. Nothing in the word's form tells the two apart, so only context does. In writing where a misreading would matter, a plainer word such as formidable carries the admiring sense without the risk.

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