terrificaron

Terrificaron is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb terrificar. It is the third-person plural in the pretérito indefinido (simple past) and translates to “they terrified” or “they frightened.” The verb terrificar belongs to the -ificar family, formed from the root terror- (fear) with the suffix -ificar, meaning to cause to become or to make into something associated with the root meaning. In standard Spanish, terrificar is a regular -ificar verb, and its preterite forms follow the pattern typical for -ificar verbs.

In practice, terrificaron is used in narrative or descriptive prose to indicate that a group performed actions that caused fear or intimidation for others. It is a transitive verb and requires a direct object or a referent of fear: for example, “Los guardias terrificaron a los prisioneros” would mean that the guards frightened or terrorized the prisoners. The form can appear in historical, journalistic, or literary contexts to convey a completed action in the past.

Related forms include terrificado (adjective, meaning “terrified” or “frightened”) and terrificante (adjective, meaning “terrifying”). The word shares its semantic field with other fear-related terms derived from terror, and its usage tends to emphasize the intensity and impact of the act described.

Notes on usage: as a past-tense verb, terrificaron is appropriate when the subject is plural and the action is completed, aligning with standard Spanish conjugation patterns for -ar verbs in the pretérito indefinido.

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