The title compound, C(22)H(14)F(3)N(3), is a versatile tridentate N-donor ligand consisting of a terpyridyl (terpy) molecule substituted in the 4'-position by a phenyl group, itself substituted in an ortho-position by a bulky trifluoro-methyl group. The phenyl ring is twisted as a result of steric inter-actions involving the bulky trifluoro-methyl substituent. This is reflected in the dihedral angle between the mean plane through the C atoms of the phenyl ring and the terpyridyl unit being 69.2 (1)°. The crystal structure contains no short van der Waals contacts. However, the terpy units stack in a head-to-tail orientation perpendicular to the c axis. The structure is is loosely stabilized by π-π inter-actions between the terminal pyridine rings of adjacent mol-ecules along the stack. The perpendicular distance between the mean planes through the terpy moieties of adjacent mol-ecules is 3.4 (1) Å.