horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing painful and intense fear, dread, dismay, or aversion : marked by or arousing horror

a horrible accident

2

: extremely bad or unpleasant

a horrible mistake

horrible food

horrible noun

horribleness noun

horribly

ˈhȯr-ə-blē 

ˈhär-

adverb

Synonyms

• horrific
• gruesome
• terrible
• nightmare
• shocking
• awful
• horrifying
• terrific

Examples of horrible in a Sentence

He suffered a horrible death.

The crime scene was too horrible to describe.

The team had a horrible season last year.

He realized that he had made a horrible mistake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Maybe the news reports and images trigger your feelings around a horrible experience at a camp, a personal loss of a child, or even just a loss of feeling safe and in control of the world, said Hurlbert. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 July 2025

For many who were directly affected by the flood, these post-flood days have been like waking up from a horrible nightmare. —Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025

The market is just full of butcher shops, with the most ghastly whole pigs and halves of steers hanging from horrible hooks. —John Updike, New Yorker, 11 July 2025

Too Much follows Megan Stalter as Jessica, a producer who's just been broken up with by her horrible ex-boyfriend. —Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 11 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English orible, horrible, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin horribilis, from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle (of hair, weapons, plants), shudder, shiver" + -ibilis "capable of exhibiting or causing (the action of the verb)" — more at horror entry 1, -able

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for horrible

• adorable
• deplorable
• storable

Kids Definition

horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing horror

2

: extremely unpleasant or bad

horrible food

horribly

-blē 

adverb