horrid
Americanadjective
-
such as to cause horror; shockingly dreadful; abominable.
-
extremely unpleasant or disagreeable.
horrid weather; She thought her uncle was horrid.
- Synonyms:
- nasty, abominable, odious, vile
-
Archaic. shaggy or bristling; rough.
adjective
-
disagreeable; unpleasant
a horrid meal
-
repulsive or frightening
-
informal unkind
Usage
What does horrid mean? Horrid is popularly used to mean extremely bad—awful, dreadful, or horrible.When it’s used to describe a person, it often means extremely disagreeable or cruel.Much less commonly, it can mean literally causing horror—horrifying or horrific.Example: Everyone seems to like that restaurant, but I had a horrid experience there—bad food and even worse service.
Other Word Forms
- horridly adverb
- horridness noun
Etymology
Origin of horrid
1580–90; < Latin horridus bristling, rough, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre to stand on end, bristle) + -idus -id 4
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The forest ripped past Clare in a crimson smear, his reeling mind taking a beat too long to reach the horrid realization: The hour had struck midnight.
From Literature
Even as the horrid recital continued, two guards came out of the bunkers, carrying between them the form of a man.
From Literature
I didn’t have to touch that horrid reference letter—Join you at Bell—and now I’ll never have to see it again.
From Literature
Special dishwasher salt, meanwhile, helps to "soften the water preventing lime scale build up and those horrid white marks on glasses."
From BBC
They force him to drink some horrid potion, and next thing you know the poor chap’s evacuating from both ends.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
