hideous

[hid-ee-uhs]

adjective

1. horrible or frightful to the senses; repulsive; very ugly.

   a hideous monster.

   Synonyms: ghastly, appalling, dreadful, monstrous, odious, detestable, repellent, grim, grisly
   Antonyms: attractive, pleasing

2. shocking or revolting to the moral sense.

   a hideous crime.

   Synonyms: ghastly, appalling, dreadful, monstrous, odious, detestable, repellent, grim, grisly

3. distressing; appalling.

   the hideous expense of moving one's home to another city.

hideous

/ ˌhɪdɪˈɒsɪtɪ, ˈhɪdɪəs /

adjective

1. extremely ugly; repulsive

   a hideous person

2. terrifying and horrific

Other Word Forms

• hideously adverb
• hideousness noun
• hideosity noun
• unhideous adjective
• unhideously adverb
• unhideousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hideous¹

1275–1325; Middle English hidous < Old French hisdos, equivalent to hisde horror, fright (perhaps < Old High German *egisida, akin to egisôn, agison to frighten) + -os -ous; suffix later assimilated to -eous

Word History and Origins

Origin of hideous¹

C13: from Old French hisdos, from hisde fear; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

The hideous blue monster we saw earlier is right by the force field now, banging its head against the energy barrier in front of it.

Read more on Literature

That two of them involve hideous versions of childbirth isn’t accidental.

Read more on Salon

When her rival, Poot’s Thea, arrives underdressed, Hedda forces her into a hideous frock with fussy bows and an ungainly skirt.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Any new layoffs tied to the shutdown combined with the workers who took the deferred resignation program could mean “a hideous employment report could be coming,” he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That was certainly the case when Roberts stamped on Wolves' Kevin Muscat after the Australian had injured Bellamy with a hideous tackle - and it wasn't just opponents who sought out the teenager for punishment.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• abominable 
• appalling 
• awful 
• disgusting 
• dreadful 
• frightful 
• ghastly 
• grim 
• grisly 
• gruesome 
• hateful 
• horrendous 
• horrid 
• macabre 
• monstrous 
• nasty 
• odious 
• repulsive 
• revolting 
• shocking