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

The record-breaking temperatures worsened deadly and destructive disasters around the world: Canadian wildfires forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people, Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, and a horrific heat wave in Pakistan killed hundreds of people. —Umair Irfan, Vox, 28 Dec. 2024

City officials described the incident as horrific and vowed to bolster security in the subway. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2024

This horrific trend requires a coordinated response involving nonprofits, law enforcement, governments and industry leaders. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

But, unbeknownst to the contestants, the Front Man, a former winner of the game who went on to run the horrific experiment, has disguised himself as Player 001. —Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 26 Dec. 2024

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