horrific
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of horrific
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin horrificus, equivalent to horri-, combining form of horrēre “to bristle with fear” + -ficus -fic
Explanation
Something horrific causes horror. It’s disastrous and makes you shudder with fear. Yikes! If something horrific, like a deadly car crash, makes your hair stand up, you’re onto something. Horrific comes from the Latin word horrificus — which, if you trace it back, literally means “making the hair stand on end.” Anything horrific fills you with horror and makes you bristle. If you lose your hat, that’s a bummer. A serial killer’s rampage? That's horrific. Save horrific for things that are so scary your hair stands up, or feels like it is.
Vocabulary lists containing horrific
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 5
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Time for Kids: "Typhoon in the Philippines"
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Chapter 9: Civil War and Reconstruction, Lessons 1–2
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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.
Built in 1928 by Gordon Kaufmann, and a gift from Edward Doheny to his son Ned and his family, the stately Tudor Revival was home to a horrific tragedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Councillor Ivan Keatley, of Fine Gael, said he understood the alarm was raised by a motorist who "came upon the horrific scene" and said the emergency services had attended "almost immediately".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” Huckabee said in a post on X.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
But even with these horrific allegations, he could still win?
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Even though his inflexible new boots had chewed his feet into hamburger, Beck kept hobbling upward, day in and day out, scarcely mentioning what must have been horrific pain.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
