1
as in horrible
causing fear
a horrendous explosion shook the building
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
a horrendous breach of good manners that should not escape censure
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3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
emergency room personnel did not flinch even from the most horrendous injuries
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horrendous
A lot of the blame has been placed on the duo of manager Aaron Boone and closer Devin Williams.
After being one of the best pitchers in baseball for five years, Williams has been horrendous for the Yankees.
—
Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
Massachusetts has a horrendous reputation as the most criminal-loving anti-prosecution, anti-incarceration state in the nation.
—Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
The resulting accidents were horrendous, but the design and engineering shortcomings that eventually led to the Comet’s demise were even more catastrophic.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
The production the Yankees have received at third base has been horrendous.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrendous
Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
Massachusetts has a horrendous reputation as the most criminal-loving anti-prosecution, anti-incarceration state in the nation.
—Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 11 Aug. 2025
The resulting accidents were horrendous, but the design and engineering shortcomings that eventually led to the Comet’s demise were even more catastrophic.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
The production the Yankees have received at third base has been horrendous.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrendous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrendous
Adjective
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As a Minneapolis resident and Minnesota native, these past few days have been horrible.—
Sam Woodward,
USA Today,
30 Aug. 2025
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However, in the immediate aftermath of something horrible, when everyone feels helpless, prayer can be a good place to go at the start, said Collins.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Don’t rely on an aesthetic that most people can easily see is awful.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
23 Aug. 2025
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Traveling down a dirt road in the park, the men heard the awful sound of a tire on the RV going flat.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But Indy got hit with a two-by-four with Tyrese Haliburton’s horrific Achilles tear in the first quarter of Game 7 of the finals.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
19 Aug. 2025
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In the end, the book circles back to the Jewish search for a home after the catastrophe of World War II and, in just a few potent pages, the consequent suffering of the Palestinians, magnified by the current horrific destruction underway in Gaza.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In his first-ever manuscript, the 19-year-old English major imagined a terrifying dystopian death game.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
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The first movie revolved around a bride’s (Weaving) wedding night which takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This obviously created some hard feelings and things got very ugly.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Aug. 2025
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The stan fighting quickly turned ugly; a fan posted a racist meme of Huda as the police officer who murdered George Floyd, with Olandria’s face pasted on Floyd’s.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Galpin’s storyline does conclude in Episode 2 of Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 as the lonely man dies a gruesome death, discovered by Wednesday.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
8 Aug. 2025
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And part of his interaction with the public had become a rather gruesome tradition: Osbourne would throw pieces of raw meat and animal parts, including intestines and liver.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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While the latter is known for its legendarily terrible English localization, both of these were highly innovative horizontal scrolling shmups for their time.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Whether your team is in the middle of a winning run or mired in terrible form, five minutes looking at the standings can convince you that a hundred different futures are possible.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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One of the guests makes a disgusting joke involving the boat and lubricant.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
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Leftovers on a plate are more disgusting than leftovers in a pot, and leftovers on someone else’s plate more disgusting still.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrendous. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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