Literary notes about Terrifying (AI summary)
In literature, "terrifying" functions as a dynamic descriptor that amplifies the emotional intensity of a scene or character. It is employed to evoke a spectrum of responses—from the overwhelming dread of isolation, as when a character confronts the abyss of solitude [1] or experiences an ambition so daunting it fascinates [2], to the visceral shock of nature’s fury, where thunderbolts seem to rend the very sky apart [3]. The adjective also illuminates the darker contrasts in human behavior, whether capturing a mysterious, almost supernatural presence that unsettles the mind [4] or underscoring a character’s inner turmoil amid a seemingly mundane setting [5]. In each use, "terrifying" enriches the narrative by transforming the ordinary into something strikingly formidable.
- And the terrifying certainty of a night alone on the prairie made the sudden presence of a human being unreal to her.
— from Winning the Wilderness by Margaret Hill McCarter - By dawn it was an ambition so terrifying that it fascinated him.
— from The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster - Then a crash so loud, so terrifying, so awful, that the very earth and sky seemed rent asunder as by a hundred thunderbolts.
— from With Force and Arms: A Tale of Love and Salem Witchcraft by Howard Roger Garis - Here he has been pursuing me, threatening me, terrifying me for months!
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - Terrifying him, it would beat down his suspicions and prudence until he was confiding secrets to people whom he had scarcely seen.
— from Howards End by E. M. Forster
