terrific
terrific Lexical Profile
terrific Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Extremely good, enjoyable, or impressive; wonderful.
"The orchestral musicians gave a terrific performance at the concert hall last night."
Of great size, amount, or intensity.
"The high-speed train traveled across the countryside at a terrific pace."
Causing terror or dread; terrifying.
"Ancient mariners told tales of terrific sea monsters lurking in uncharted waters."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although derived from the same root as 'terrify', 'terrific' has undergone complete semantic amelioration in modern English to mean 'wonderful', unlike 'horrific' which retains its negative sense.
• Rhymes for terrific
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-17th century from Latin 'terrificus' ('causing terror or fear'), from 'terrere' ('to frighten') combined with '-ficus' ('making'); the positive colloquial sense 'excellent' emerged in the late 19th century via the intermediate sense of 'extraordinary in magnitude'.