horror story
Americannoun
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a story, movie, etc., that entertains or fascinates by shocking or frightening, especially by an emphasis on bloodshed or supernatural forces.
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Informal. a distressing experience.
the horror stories of child abuse.
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.
It was an anticlimactic end to a legal and political horror story: On Monday the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
After a brief theatrical release, “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, starts streaming Nov. 7 as director Guillermo del Toro puts his sumptuous spin on Mary Shelley’s classic gothic horror story.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025
It would be an American horror story, he told me.
From Salon • Jun. 14, 2025
But using him as a donor turned into a "horror story" for a couple after he took them to court as he wanted parental rights over their child.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2025
When I was younger, he loomed large and scary, like a character in a horror story.
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
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.
