terrific

comparative more terrific · superlative most terrific · alternative obsolete terrifick

1. archaicCausing terror; terrifying.First known use 17th c.

   [T]he diſmal ſhrieks of demoniac rage […] rouſed phantoms of horror in her mind, far more terrific than all that dreaming ſuperſtition ever drew.

   1798, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, “[Maria: or, The] Wrongs of Woman”, in W[illiam] Godwin, editor, Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […]; and G[eorge,] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinson, […], →OCLC, chapter III, page 50

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   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.

   1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 154

   He made love in a coach and six, and married in a coach and twelve, and all his horses were milk-white horses with one red spot on the back which he caused to be hidden by the harness. For, the spot would come there, though every horse was milk-white when Captain Murderer bought him. And the spot was young bride's blood. (To this terrific point I am indebted for my first personal experience of a shudder and cold beads on the forehead.)

   1860, Charles Dickens, Captain Murderer

   Synonyms: affreux, alarming, spine-tingling, appalling, awful, eldritch, buggish, butt-clenching

2. Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous.First known use 18th c.

   I've got a terrific hangover this morning.

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   The car came round the bend at a terrific speed.

   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.

   1769, Joseph Collyer, transl., The Messiah, 4th edition, page 280

   When the warriors saw this, their cheers were terrific.

   1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 23, column 2

   From Atlantic to Pacific / Gee, the traffic is terrific.

   1954, “(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”, Al Stillman (lyrics), Robert Allen (music)

3. Extremely good; excellent, amazing.First known use 19th c.

   I say! She's a terrific tennis player.