horrible

[hawr-uh-buhl, hor-]

adjective

1. causing or tending to cause horror; shockingly dreadful.

   a horrible sight.

   Synonyms: repellent, horrendous, horrid, repulsive, revolting, shocking, ghastly, grim, hideous, frightful, appalling, awful, terrible
   Antonyms: attractive

2. extremely unpleasant; deplorable; disgusting.

   horrible living conditions.

horrible

/ ˈhɒrəbəl /

adjective

1. causing horror; dreadful

2. disagreeable; unpleasant

3. informal,  cruel or unkind

Other Word Forms

• horribleness noun
• horribly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of horrible¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (h)orrible, from Old French, from Latin horribilis, equivalent to horr(ēre) “to stand on end, bristle with fear” + -ibilis -ible

Word History and Origins

Origin of horrible¹

C14: via Old French from Latin horribilis, from horrēre to tremble

Example Sentences

That is the makings of a bad habit—a fast-track to chewing tobacco, which is directly linked to oral squamous cell carcinoma, a horrible disease.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“That was a quote from a poem I wrote to a horrible man I’ve never met before,” he said.

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"It's horrible to think what has happened to the wildlife it is home to," she added.

Read more on BBC

"There was no cutting or editing out the horrible bits that no one wants to see."

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“His big, horrible bill strips millions of Americans of healthcare, undermines workers and punishes families. Meanwhile, these very services keep our neighborhoods safe, our children fed and our community alive.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abhorrent 
• abominable 
• appalling 
• awful 
• cruel 
• disgusting 
• dreadful 
• eerie 
• frightful 
• ghastly 
• grim 
• grisly 
• gruesome 
• heinous 
• hideous 
• horrendous 
• horrid 
• lousy 
• nasty 
• scandalous 

When To Use

What does horrible mean?

Horrible is popularly used to mean extremely bad—awful, dreadful, or horrendous.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 horrible experience there—bad food and even worse service.