horrid
Americanadjective
-
such as to cause horror; shockingly dreadful; abominable.
-
extremely unpleasant or disagreeable.
horrid weather; She thought her uncle was horrid.
- Synonyms:
- nasty, abominable, odious, vile
-
Archaic. shaggy or bristling; rough.
adjective
-
disagreeable; unpleasant
a horrid meal
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repulsive or frightening
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informal unkind
Usage
What does horrid mean? Horrid is popularly used to mean extremely bad—awful, dreadful, or horrible. 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 horrid experience there—bad food and even worse service.
Other Word Forms
- horridly adverb
- horridness noun
Etymology
Origin of horrid
1580–90; < Latin horridus bristling, rough, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre to stand on end, bristle) + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Horrid things are absolutely dreadful — they horrify or disgust you. A horrid dream can make you wake with a gasp and lie there with your heart pounding. You might cover your eyes during a particularly horrid scene in a scary movie, or skip past the horrid photos of a war zone in the newspaper. Things are also horrid when they're just plain bad: "That wallpaper in your bedroom is absolutely horrid." In the 1400s, horrid meant "hairy, shaggy, or bristling." The word stems from a Latin root, horrere, "to bristle with fear."
Vocabulary lists containing horrid
Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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Ugh! Synonyms for "Gross"
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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.
Arne Slot has faced challenge after challenge this season, from Liverpool's horrid run of nine defeats in 12 to Mohamed Salah's explosive interview at Leeds.
From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025
That reduces China’s response time to a border flare-up and “pushes power projection in that horrid terrain,” Symon said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
“The morale at JPL is horrid right now,” the mechanical engineer said.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2025
Then again, Putin has survived a plethora of plots, threats, and horrid situations that would have knocked many other dictators out of power or worse.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2024
Daniel Boone, who not only wrestled bears but tried to date their sisters, described corners of the southern Appalachians as “so wild and horrid that it is impossible to behold them without terror.”
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
