Wordiyoterrere
LatinVariants
Related Roots
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
deter
To discourage or prevent someone from doing something
deterrent
Something that discourages action; serving to deter
terrible
Extremely bad or unpleasant; causing fear or distress
terribly
Very; extremely; in a very bad way
terrific
Extremely good; excellent; very great or intense
terrify
To cause extreme fear; to frighten greatly
terrifying
Causing extreme fear; deeply frightening
terror
Intense fear or dread; a cause of great fear