terrific

adjectivecommon in dialogue

Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous.

adjective

1
archaicCausing terror; terrifying.
[T]he diſmal ſhrieks of demoniac rage […] rouſed phantoms of horror in her mind, far more terrific than all that dreaming ſuperſtition ever drew.
Think of wandering amid sepulchral ruins, of stumbling over the bones of the dead, of encountering what I cannot describe,—the horror of being among those who are neither the living or the dead;—those dark and shadowless things that sport themselves with the reliques of the dead, and feast and love amid corruption,—ghastly, mocking, and terrific.
2
Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous.
The car came round the bend at a terrific speed.
I've got a terrific hangover this morning.
The ſtar tremulous turn'd its thundering poles, and the whole creation reſounded; when, with terrific haſte, Adamida, in obediance to the divine command, flew amidſt overwhelming ſtorms, ruſhing clouds, falling mountains, and ſwelling ſeas.
When the warriors saw this, their cheers were terrific.
3
Extremely good; excellent, amazing.
I say! She's a terrific tennis player.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *θakos Proto-Italic *-fakos Latin -ficus Latin terrificusder. French terrifiqueder. English terrific From French terrifique, and its source, Latin terrificus (“terrifying”), from terrēre (“to frighten, terrify”) + -ficus, related to facere (“to make”). By surface analysis, terrify + -ic. The sense of excellent or amazing is an ameliorative semantic shift from the original sense of terrifying. Compare similar semantic development in sick and wicked.

Forms

comparative: more terrific
superlative: most terrific

Terri · A female given name; a spelling variant of Terry, diminutive…terrible · Dreadful; causing terror, alarm and fear; awesome terribly · Very; extremely.

terrific · Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous.

terrified · Extremely frightened.terrifying · Frightening or intimidating.territorial · Of, relating to, or restricted to a specific geographic area,…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.