terrere
Latinto frighten, terrify, fill with fear
About This Root
From Latin terrēre (to frighten, fill with dread). Distinct from terra (earth). Produces a spectrum of fear: terror (extreme fear), terrible (causing dread), terrify (to fill with fear), terrific (originally "terrifying," now flipped to mean "wonderful"), and deter/deterrent (to frighten away from). The semantic reversal of terrific is one of English's notable shifts.
Associated Words · 8
terrible
Extremely bad or unpleasant; causing fear or distress
terror
Intense fear or dread; a cause of great fear
terrific
Extremely good; excellent; very great or intense
terribly
Very; extremely; in a very bad way
terrify
To cause extreme fear; to frighten greatly
deter
To discourage or prevent someone from doing something
deterrent
Something that discourages action; serving to deter
terrifying
Causing extreme fear; deeply frightening