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Terrible, Terrified and Terrific are all adjectives with the common prefix "Terri", but these three words have completely different usage. In this article, PREP will help you understand the definitions, words/phrases associated with them, and the differences between Terrible, Terrified and Terrific. Read now!
26 maj 2014 · Terrible and terrific are both formed off the same root: terror. Both started out a few hundred years ago with the meaning of terror-inducing. But terrific took a strange turn at the beginning...
There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the word terrific, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
As adjectives the difference between terrific and terrible. is that terrific is frighteningly good while terrible is dreadful; causing alarm and fear.
A complete answer from the first result: The meaning of terrific has actually changed over time. According to EtymOnline: 1660s, "frightening," from L. terrificus "causing terror or fear," from terrere "fill with fear" (see terrible) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious).
terrible is one of the 5,000 most common words in modern written English. It is similar in frequency to words like embrace, infrastructure, interfere, phone, and therapist. It typically occurs about 20 times per million words in modern written English.
