What does "terrific" mean?

1. (excellent) very good, wonderful, or impressive. 2. (intense) very great in amount, degree, or intensity. 3. (causing terror) causing great fear or terror.

Is it correct to say "The movie was terrific, I was so scared."?

No — say "The movie was terrifying, I was so scared.". In modern English, 'terrific' means 'great'. If you want to say something causes fear, use 'terrifying'.

terrific

adj.

US //tɝˈɪfɪk// UK //təɹˈɪfɪk// ter·rif·ic

1 excellent (adj.)
B1 Intermediate

very good, wonderful, or impressive.

extremely good; used as an enthusiastic intensifier for quality.

Example

You did a terrific job on the presentation and everyone was impressed.

Example

The feedback from the client was terrific, specifically praising the team's ability to meet such a demanding schedule without compromising quality.
- terrible
- awful
Pitfall

The movie was terrific, I was so scared.

The movie was terrifying, I was so scared.

In modern English, 'terrific' means 'great'. If you want to say something causes fear, use 'terrifying'.
2 intense (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

very great in amount, degree, or intensity.

extraordinary in degree or intensity; used to emphasize the scale of a non-physical quality.

Example

The engine was making a terrific noise as the car sped down the road.

Example

The project was completed under terrific pressure, yet the final results exceeded the board's most optimistic projections.
- slight
- minor

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3 causing terror (adj.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

causing great fear or terror.

causing great fear or dread; the original etymological sense related to 'terror'.

Example

The terrific roar of the storm shook the very foundations of the old house.

Example

In the gothic novel, the protagonist faces a terrific apparition that haunts the castle's highest battlements.

Teacher's tip

Modern speakers almost never use this sense; it is found primarily in 18th and 19th-century literature.
- terrifying
- dreadful
- comforting

Origin

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.