TOP

Definition of terrific adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

terrific

adjective
 
/təˈrɪfɪk/
 
/təˈrɪfɪk/
jump to other results
  1. (informal) excellent; wonderful
    • I feel absolutely terrific today!
    • She's doing a terrific job.
    • You look terrific in that dress.
    • He was really terrific when I was in trouble.
    • That’s terrific news!
    • (ironic) So nobody’s coming. Terrific!
    Synonyms greatgreatcool fantastic fabulous terrific brilliant awesome epicThese are all informal words that describe somebody/​something that is very good, impressive, great fun, etc.great (informal) very good; giving a lot of pleasure:
    • We had a great time in Madrid.
    cool (informal) used to show that you admire or approve of something, often because it is fashionable, attractive or different:
    • I think their new song’s really cool.
    fantastic (informal) extremely good; giving a lot of pleasure:
    • ‘How was your holiday?’ ‘Fantastic!’
    fabulous (informal) extremely good:
    • Jane’s a fabulous cook.
    (Fabulous is slightly more old-fashioned than the other words in this set.)
    terrific (informal) extremely good; wonderful:
    • She’s doing a terrific job.
    brilliant (British English, informal) extremely good; wonderful:
    • ‘How was the show?’ ‘Brilliant!’
    awesome (informal, especially North American English) very good, impressive or great fun:
    • The show was just awesome.
    epic (informal) very good, impressive or great fun:
    • The adventure and action are truly epic in scope.
    Patterns
    • to have a(n) great/​cool/​fantastic/​fabulous/​terrific/​brilliant/​awesome time
    • to look/​sound great/​cool/​fantastic/​fabulous/​terrific/​brilliant/​awesome
    • really great/​cool/​fantastic/​fabulous/​terrific/​brilliant/​awesome
    • absolutely great/​fantastic/​fabulous/​terrific/​brilliant/​awesome/​epic
    Extra Examples
    • To win one of our terrific prizes, answer these three questions.
    • We came back from holiday feeling terrific.
    • He's terrific with animals.
    • She's terrific at chess.
  2. (informal) very large; very great
    • I've got a terrific amount of work to do.
    • We drove along at a terrific speed.
  3. Word Originmid 17th cent. (originally referring to something that causes terror): from Latin terrificus, from terrere ‘frighten’.
See terrific in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day