to terrify
ba.at describes causing fear or being overcome with fear in threatening, distressing, or overwhelming situations.
The verb marks intense fear as something that comes upon a person or is brought about by a threatening presence, distress, visions, or danger. Its Piel forms occur where an agent or circumstance produces fear, while Niphal forms describe a person becoming terrified.
Senses in use
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Causing or undergoing intense fear · dominant
In 1 Samuel 16:14, the Piel perfect form occurs when a harmful spirit affects Saul; in 1 Samuel 16:15, the active participle stands in the servants' statement that the spirit is terrifying him. The Niphal perfect forms describe David's response before the messenger's sword in 1 Chronicles 21:30, Daniel falling on his face when approached in Daniel 8:17, and Haman's fear before the king and queen in Esther 7:6. Other Piel clauses portray fear produced by dreams and visions in Job 7:14, by distress and anguish in Job 15:24, and by terrors surrounding a person in Job 18:11.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the relevant clauses with “terrified” and, in Job 7:14, “frighten me” alongside “terrify me.” These renderings confirm the verses' fear context rather than assign a separate English equivalent to every form.