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

Give Back To Maui After the horrible 2023 wildfires in Maui, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua reopened on October 8, 2023, and it’s been going strong and welcoming guests with open arms since then. —Robin Raven, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

This is also a great matchup against a horrible Jaguars passing defense. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024

Commanders 28, Giants 20 Upset of the week Los Angeles Rams at Seattle The Rams have bounced back from a horrible start to beat Las Vegas and Minnesota the past two weeks. —Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 1 Nov. 2024

El Cerrito has a troubled history of exceptionally high taxes and horrible fiscal management. —Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, The Mercury News, 1 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