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
Etymology
Origin of horrid
1580–90; < Latin horridus bristling, rough, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre to stand on end, bristle) + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Horrid things are absolutely dreadful — they horrify or disgust you. A horrid dream can make you wake with a gasp and lie there with your heart pounding. You might cover your eyes during a particularly horrid scene in a scary movie, or skip past the horrid photos of a war zone in the newspaper. Things are also horrid when they're just plain bad: "That wallpaper in your bedroom is absolutely horrid." In the 1400s, horrid meant "hairy, shaggy, or bristling." The word stems from a Latin root, horrere, "to bristle with fear."
Vocabulary lists containing horrid
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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!
"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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!
Ugh! Synonyms for "Gross"
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.
Special dishwasher salt, meanwhile, helps to "soften the water preventing lime scale build up and those horrid white marks on glasses."
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
That reduces China’s response time to a border flare-up and “pushes power projection in that horrid terrain,” Symon said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
“The morale at JPL is horrid right now,” the mechanical engineer said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2025
Well-credentialed scientists were starting to worry about the long-term effects of carbon emissions, but the public was still more attuned to the unavoidable scenes of toxic water pollution and horrid air quality.
From Slate ● Dec. 30, 2024
He teased them and told them he did not think they would make much money selling such horrid items.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
