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horrible

American  
[hawr-uh-buhl, hor-] / ˈhɔr ə bəl, ˈhɒr- /

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 British  
/ ˈhɒrəbəl /

adjective

  1. causing horror; dreadful

  2. disagreeable; unpleasant

  3. informal cruel or unkind

"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

Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

  • horribleness noun
  • horribly adverb

Etymology

Origin of horrible

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

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.