horrific

adjective

hor·​rif·​ic hȯ-ˈri-fik 

hä-

: having the power to horrify

a horrific account of the tragedy

horrifically

hȯ-ˈri-fi-k(ə-)lē 

hä-

adverb

Synonyms

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

Examples of horrific in a Sentence

horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously

Recent Examples on the Web

Viscerally horrific, conceptually mindblowing, achingly humane. —Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

With that horrific risk in mind, the crew hatches a new plan. —Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2025

Aunt Lydia maintains her faith in Gilead’s religious principles — but the horrific events that contradict them seem to hint at her beliefs possibly cracking, even this late in the game. —Abigail Lee, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025

And if the resort was going to be host to such a horrific event — not so long after people died violently either on or near two other White Lotus properties over the past few years — then the show needs to be prepared to deal with the consequences of that. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French horrifique, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin horrificus "inspiring awe or dread, frightening," from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle, shudder, shiver" + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for horrific

• pacific
• prolific
• salvific
• specific
• terrific
• calorific
• conspecific
• hieroglyphic
• honorific
• nonspecific
• scientific
• soporific