Definition

1. Adjective / Verb (used with "to be" or intransitively):
   • To be horrified, to be terrified: To experience an intense, overwhelming feeling of fear or dread, often to the point of being shaken or paralyzed in spirit.
   • To be extremely frightened: A state of profound fear caused by something perceived as extremely threatening or dreadful.

Usage Examples

• Adjective / Verb:
  • Mọi người đều khiếp sợ trước sự tàn bạo của kẻ thù. (Everyone was horrified by the enemy's brutality.)
  • Đứa trẻ khiếp sợ khi nghe thấy tiếng động lạ trong bóng tối. (The child was terrified upon hearing a strange noise in the darkness.)
  • Sự im lặng ở nơi đó khiến tôi khiếp sợ. (The silence in that place filled me with terror.)

Advanced Usage

• Can function as a stative verb, often used with "trước" (before/in the face of) to indicate the object of the fear.
• Can be used descriptively to characterize a state of being.

Variants and Related Words

• Khiếp đảm (adj/v): To be terrified, to be appalled. A synonym with a very similar intensity.

  • Bộ phim kinh dị khiến khán giả khiếp đảm. (The horror movie left the audience appalled.)

• Khiếp hãi (adj/v): To be terrified, to be frightened out of one's wits. Another near-identical synonym.

  • Họ khiếp hãi bỏ chạy. (They fled in terror.)

Synonyms

• Horrified: Filled with shock and fear.
• Terrified: Extremely frightened.
• Appalled: Greatly horrified or shocked.

Related Idioms

• Khiếp sợ đến xanh mặt: To be so terrified that one's face turns pale.

  • Cô ấy khiếp sợ đến xanh mặt khi nhìn thấy con rắn. (She was so terrified at the sight of the snake that her face turned pale.)

• Khiếp sợ như chuột thấy mèo: To be as frightened as a mouse seeing a cat (to be scared stiff).

  • Tên trộm khiếp sợ như chuột thấy mèo khi cảnh sát xuất hiện. (The thief was as frightened as a mouse seeing a cat when the police appeared.)

1. be horrified, be terrified