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

Despite Fraser Forster making a couple of horrible mistakes in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, then conceding six against Liverpool, the wisest move might be to sign a younger back-up goalkeeper for the long-term. —Jack Pitt-Brooke, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024

Specifically, Trump often points to the horrible human costs of the war and indicates a desire to put an end to the fighting as soon as possible. —Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2024

As Eva points out later, what more punishment could her sisters get than the horrible truth of that? —Caroline Framke, Vulture, 23 Dec. 2024

Plus, Schoen and the front office are too knee-deep running this team to claim plausible deniability from Daboll’s and the coaches’ horrible operation. —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 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