horrendous

adjective

hor·​ren·​dous hȯ-ˈren-dəs 

hä-,

hə-

: extremely bad or unpleasant : horrible, dreadful

His audition was horrendous.

horrendous crimes

horrendously adverb

Synonyms

• alarming
• dire
• direful
• dread
• dreadful
• fearful
• fearsome
• forbidding
• formidable
• frightening
• frightful
• ghastly
• hair-raising
• horrible
• horrifying
• intimidating
• redoubtable
• scary
• shocking
• spine-chilling
• terrible
• terrifying

Examples of horrendous in a Sentence

Her taste in clothes is horrendous.

a horrendous explosion shook the building

Recent Examples on the Web

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna joins me now, and this is obviously just a horrendous crime, but has this online vitriol surprised you? —ABC News, 8 Dec. 2024

Furtwängler seemed to be superhumanly trying to restore not just the culture but the humanity that Germany had disregarded in its horrendous war. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024

This Bombardier deal looks good long term, with $17 billion in revenue potential, but a guidance cut as a result is horrendous. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2024

The tech giant started the year with a horrendous first quarter that had investors fretting the company had lost its mojo after the death of iconic founder Steve Jobs. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin horrendus "inspiring terror or awe, dreadful" (gerundive of horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle, shudder, shiver") + -ous — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

horrendous

adjective

hor·​ren·​dous hȯ-ˈren-dəs 

hä-,

hə-

: dreadful, horrible

horrendously adverb