terrific

/təˈrɪfɪk/ (bre, ipa) · /təˈrɪfɪk/ (ame, ipa) · /tə-ˈri-fik/ (ame, mw)

terrific — adjective

  • terrificpositive
  • more terrificcomparative
  • most terrificsuperlative

1. extremely good, enjoyable, or impressive in a way that makes you feel excited or

1.形容詞B1
釋義

extremely good, enjoyable, or impressive in a way that makes you feel excited or enthusiastic — used especially in informal conversation

例句

Tunde cooked a terrific meal for his family on Saturday, and everyone asked for seconds.

terrific + noun (meal)

Élise called the film terrific and urged her friends to see it before it left the cinema.

call + noun + terrific (object complement)

同義詞
  • excellent

    more formal, suitable for academic or professional contexts

  • wonderful

    similar register, more common in British English

  • fantastic

    same register, very common in spoken English

  • amazing

    expresses surprise and admiration alongside quality

反義詞
  • terrible

    opposite in both form and meaning; shares the same root as terrific

  • awful

    strongly negative, informal register similar to terrific

文法句型

terrific + noun

be + terrific

What a + terrific + noun

用法筆記

Frequently used in informal spoken English to express enthusiasm or strong approval. Avoid using it in formal or academic writing, where excellent or outstanding are more appropriate.

常見錯誤

❌The weather is very terrific today.
✅The weather is terrific today.
💡'terrific' already contains the meaning of 'very'; do not add 'very' before it.
❌I wrote a terrific essay for my professor.
✅I wrote an excellent essay for my professor.
💡'terrific' is too informal for academic writing.

2. extremely large, great, or intense in amount, size, or force — used to add empha

2.形容詞B2
釋義

extremely large, great, or intense in amount, size, or force — used to add emphasis when describing something powerful or extreme

例句

The truck was moving at a terrific speed when it crashed into the guardrail.

terrific + noun (speed — intensifier of degree)

Noor felt a terrific pain in her shoulder after lifting the heavy box.

同義詞
  • enormous

    more formal, emphasises size or scale

  • immense

    more formal, emphasises vastness of degree

  • extreme

    covers degree but does not carry the same informal tone

反義詞
  • slight

    opposite of 'great in degree'

  • tiny

    opposite of 'great in amount or size'

文法句型

terrific + noun (amount/speed/force/intensity)

用法筆記

Always used before a noun (attributive position) in this sense — for example, terrific speed, terrific pain, terrific force. Using it after a linking verb (e.g. 'The pain was terrific') may cause confusion with sense 1.

常見錯誤

❌The pressure I felt was terrific.
✅I felt a terrific pressure in my chest.
💡In this sense, 'terrific' must come before the noun; predicative use shifts the meaning to sense 1.
❌There was a very terrific explosion.
✅There was a terrific explosion.
💡Do not use 'very' or 'extremely' to modify 'terrific' in this sense; the intensifying meaning is already built in.