horrible
Americanadjective
-
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
-
extremely unpleasant; deplorable; disgusting.
horrible living conditions.
adjective
-
causing horror; dreadful
-
disagreeable; unpleasant
-
informal cruel or unkind
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
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.
She praised the volunteers as amazing for trying to help the horse during what was "such a sad, horrible traumatic night".
From BBC
"Her body hasn't been found. I felt horrible after hearing it," she said.
From BBC
Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin apologized and said the department would “endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake.”
From Salon
"What a horrible night for the young keeper. The Atleti fans actually gave him sympathetic applause but not sure how he can be consoled after that."
From BBC
We jog through the DeFazios’ woods, and it’s nowhere near as hot as it was on our horrible hill day, but my scalp is suffocating.
From Literature
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.
