terrific

terrific — adjective

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

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

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

Example

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)

Common collocations
  • terrific meal
  • terrific film
  • terrific job
  • terrific opportunity
  • feel terrific
  • look terrific
Synonyms
  • 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

Antonyms
  • terrible

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

  • awful

    strongly negative, informal register similar to terrific

Grammar Patterns

terrific + noun

be + terrific

What a + terrific + noun

Usage Note

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.

Common Mistakes

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.adjectiveB2
Definition

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

Example

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.

Common collocations
  • terrific speed
  • terrific pain
  • terrific force
  • terrific amount
  • terrific pressure
  • terrific explosion
Synonyms
  • 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

Antonyms
  • slight

    opposite of 'great in degree'

  • tiny

    opposite of 'great in amount or size'

Grammar Patterns

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

Usage Note

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.

Common Mistakes

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.

Word family

  • terrifically
    adverbB2

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • really terrific
  • absolutely terrific

Phrases

  • a terrific + noun