horror
Americannoun
-
an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear.
to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.
- Synonyms:
- consternation, dismay, dread
- Antonyms:
- serenity
-
anything that causes such a feeling.
killing, looting, and other horrors of war.
-
such a feeling as a quality or condition.
to have known the horror of slow starvation.
-
a strong aversion; abhorrence.
to have a horror of emotional outbursts.
- Synonyms:
- abomination, hatred, detestation, antipathy, loathing
- Antonyms:
- attraction
-
Informal. something considered bad or tasteless.
That wallpaper is a horror. The party was a horror.
-
Informal. horrors,
-
extreme depression.
adjective
-
inspiring or creating horror, loathing, aversion, etc..
The hostages told horror stories of their year in captivity.
-
centered upon or depicting terrifying or macabre events.
a horror movie.
interjection
noun
-
extreme fear; terror; dread
-
intense loathing; hatred
-
(often plural) a thing or person causing fear, loathing, etc
-
(modifier) having a frightening subject, esp a supernatural one
a horror film
Synonym Usage
See terror.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of horror
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin horror, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre “to bristle with fear”; see horrendous) + -or -or 1; replacing Middle English orrour, from Anglo-French, from Latin horrōr-, stem of horror
Explanation
The noun horror means intense fear, so you can use it when you describe the horror you felt when you dreamed you were flying on a bumpy airplane with a bunch of clowns. Horror is a powerful word that refers to a powerful feeling, either of terror, disgust, or shock. You might reel back from the horror of a smelly locker room, or gasp in horror at a gory scene in a movie. Horror can also be used to describe the genre of film that might make you gasp: a horror movie. The Latin word horror means "bristling, roughness, rudeness, shaking, or trembling."
Vocabulary lists containing horror
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Words inspired by "Inside Out"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 1: Telling Details
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
An ex-employee described Robert Bush's funeral parlour as a "horror scene", prosecutor Chris Paxton said at the start of a five-day sentencing hearing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
England's Gabriel Langton said he feared for his future in gymnastics after his horror fall at the Commonwealth Games, but will "definitely be back to it" soon.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
In the fictional, foggy town of “Widow’s Bay”—trying to sell itself as the next Martha’s Vineyard—Matthew Rhys smoothly sails through drama, horror and comedy with impressive range.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Parsons took the phenomenon from low resolution static images into immersive cinematic exploration, helping to establish Backrooms as one of social media’s most recognizable horror environments.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
But all words had abandoned me, and the only thing to escape my throat was a tiny squeak of horror.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Tossing her blond locks like a hair-metal vixen, she’s a needy, greedy, selfie-taking try-hard who — horrors — frets over her own mass appeal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Rahela Begum survived the horrors of war in Myanmar and life in the world's largest refugee camp in Bangladesh -- only to end up drifting at sea, clinging to a wooden plank.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
It's clear that Vasyl Krupych experienced horrors at war.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
They transformed the unimaginable horrors that began with their theft from their homeland into constitutional principles expansive enough to protect people they would never know and generations they would never live to see.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
But they had not reckoned with the horrors of hex—or with the galvanizing personality of Ernest Lawrence.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
