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Synonyms

horror-struck

American  
[hawr-er-struhk, hor-] / ˈhɔr ərˌstrʌk, ˈhɒr- /
Also horror-stricken

adjective

  1. stricken with horror; horrified; aghast.

horror-struck British  

adjective

  1. shocked; horrified

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of horror-struck

First recorded in 1805–15

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.

Horror struck me, and I rushed for home, my brain whirling, a strange numbness growing in me.

From Black Spirits and White A Book of Ghost Stories by Cram, Ralph Adams

Horror struck his auditor dumb; her shrivelled lips moved with a tremulous motion, as if she desired to speak—but she spoke not.

From The Cavaliers of Virginia or, The Recluse of Jamestown. Vol. II by Caruthers, William A. (Alexander)

Horror struck, Lady Helena catches him in time to prevent it.

From A Terrible Secret by Fleming, May Agnes

Horror struck, he hurried forward, and asked the crew in the forecastle, what he should do.

From A Narrative of the Mutiny, on Board the Ship Globe, of Nantucket, in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 1824 And the journal of a residence of two years on the Mulgrave Islands; with observations on the manners and customs of the inhabitants by Lay, William

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.