Ivan the Terrible

proper noun

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, who was the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533, and Tsar of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584.

OriginRussian Ива́н Гро́зный →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Ivan IV Vasilyevich, who was the Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533, and Tsar of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584.

Origin

  1. RussianИва́н Гро́зный
  2. EnglishIvan the Terrible

A calque of Russian Ива́н Гро́зный (Iván Gróznyj), using the older “inspiring fear or terror; dangerous; powerful” (not “defective; evil”) sense of terrible.

More words from Russian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 恐怖伊凡
  • 恐怖伊凡Translations
Dutch Ivan de Verschrikkelijke
  • Ivan de VerschrikkelijkeTranslations
Finnish Iivana Julma
  • Iivana JulmaTranslations
French Ivan le Terrible
  • Ivan le TerribleTranslations
German Ivan der Schreckliche
  • Ivan der SchrecklicheTranslations
Italian Ivan il Terribile
  • Ivan il TerribileTranslations
Latvian Jānis Briesmīgais
  • Jānis BriesmīgaisTranslations
Lithuanian Ivanas Rūstusis
  • Ivanas RūstusisTranslations
Polish Iwan Groźny
  • Iwan GroźnyTranslations
Russian Ива́н Гро́зный
  • Ива́н Гро́зный (Iván Gróznyj)Translations
Cite this entry
APA

Ivan the Terrible. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ivan%20the%20Terrible

MLA

“Ivan the Terrible.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ivan%20the%20Terrible. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ivan the Terrible,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ivan%20the%20Terrible.

Source: Ivan the Terrible on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.