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

• appalling
• atrocious
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• ghastly
• grisly
• gruesome
• grewsome
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• 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

The two have to make the best of a horrible situation, and the frenemy dynamic is already well-established before the good witch’s human-sideye sidekicks, played by Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James, purposefully unload a humiliating black hat on Elphaba. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024

Natty’s son, Bart, is also present at their arrival, boasting about how horrible business has been and that the dude ranch will soon be sold for a hefty sum of money. —Sara Belcher, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024

But the return of Terry Silver and that horrible Sekai Taikai tragedy seemed to put any hope for romance on pause, at least for now. —Nick Caruso, TVLine, 19 Nov. 2024

Mika and Chloe’s injuries are both pretty horrible. —Laura Bradley, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024

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

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