Prepositions after 'terrified'

[Tamara]

Hi

Could you say which prepositions are possible to be used after terrified?
By? Of? From?
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Mister Micawber]

.
The BBI lists at, by, of. Of course, in other formations, other prepositions could follow: I was terrified in school / at the zoo, etc.
.
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Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Tamara]

Thanks, Mister Micawber!

Now I’ve recognised my mistake with 'waking up terrified from a nightmare'.


…though I can’t still understand the difference between 'terrified of a nightmare' and 'terrified by a nightmare'...
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

'Terrified by' suggests that you have been made very frightened by something that has/had happened to you and 'terrified of ' suggests that there is something of which you are very frightened that is possibly going to happen again. Let me give an example of what I mean. A child was terrified by a lion that almost killed her. As a result she is terrified of lions in later life whenever she sees one say in a zoo or in a film. In your sentence you could have been terrified by a nighmare that you had/have had because it made you very frightened. You could also be very frightened that you might have another nightmare. In that case you are terrified of a nightmare that creates in you a similar fear to the one that you experienced in the first nightmare

A
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Word Story: Dictionary

[mejcej]

terrified of
Sid is terrified of heights.
She was terrified of being caught.

terrified (that)
We were terrified that the bridge would collapse.

terrified at
He was terrified at the thought of being stranded in the woods.

terrified to do something
He was terrified to stay home alone.
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Any questions about English or other things or just a chat, please do feel free to talk to me.

[Tamara]

Aha…

So,
when I’m terrified of making a mistake – I haven’t really done it yet
whereas when I’m terrified by making the mistake – I’ve already done, and it’s awful.

If a child used to be terrified of a dentist – it’s just a feeing of a child,
whereas … hmmm… oh, dear…

Thanks a lot!
There are so many such language traps to get into, incidentally…

PS Just to add an interesting case from the BNC:

CCN 759 The man is terrified of that, but he is equally terrified at the loss of it.
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…