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

Correspondent Jim Axelrod talks with Thompson about illuminating injustice and a Mississippi Delta culture that, Thompson says, has spent decades trying to erase a horrible crime; and visits the barn, which still stands, where Till was beaten to death. —David Morgan, CBS News, 29 Nov. 2024

Fiyero still cares for Elphaba and leaves due to the crowd’s horrible comments. —Nicole Fell, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2024

In Yellowstone, Rip Wheeler, the rugged bruiser on the Paramount+ series, has seen (and done) some horrible things. —Carlos Mejia, PCMAG, 27 Nov. 2024

Not long after he had been dismissed lbw in a horrible misjudgement to Jasprit Bumrah, Labuschagne was in a vehicle leaving the innards of Optus Stadium but the exit was crammed with Indian fans waiting for their heroes. —Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 26 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