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

In the 2011 comedy “Horrible Bosses,” three friends gang up against their bosses—all different versions of horrible.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Let’s take a closer look at crypto’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"I'm not allowed to fly and I felt like I had a real dilemma of protecting my baby over being with my mum - which is a horrible, horrible battle to have in your own head."

Read more on BBC

"It's the most horrible thing that's ever happened in my life, and the worst thing was not being able to tell anyone what was happening."

Read more on BBC

"I couldn't even tell anyone for a while. I was so embarrassed. It was a nightmare. Only one friend knew. It was a very horrible time in my life."

Read more on BBC

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.