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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Time for Kids: "Typhoon in the Philippines"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Chapter 9: Civil War and Reconstruction, Lessons 1–2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Recalling the horrific scenes around him, one young man told the BBC in a quivering voice: "I don't know if that's something I'll ever recover from."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“It was horrific, much worse than I expected,” said Cole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
"I didn't know how to go on... with having no answer, it was just a horrific, lonely time."
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Wasserman has said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, noting that it happened “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
Oswald Avery’s paper on DNA was published in 1944—the very year that the Nazi exterminations ascended to their horrific peak in Germany.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
