verb
-
to cause feelings of horror in; terrify; frighten
-
to dismay or shock greatly
Other Word Forms
- horrification noun
- horrifyingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of horrify
1785–95; < Latin horrificāre to cause horror, equivalent to horri- (combining form of horrēre to bristle with fear; horrendous ) + -ficāre -fy
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.
"That horrified me, I just thought these people deserve a wee bit of respect."
From BBC
But each time, within just a few days, she says she eats so much food she's left "completely horrified".
From BBC
Following the attack in Australia last weekend, Ben told me he was "horrified, but not surprised," saying it followed a pattern of the "global frenzy of antisemitism".
From BBC
“If an outsider looked into the family, they might be horrified with what the person will put up with,” Lembke says.
For Ms. Sweeney and Ms. Seyfried it provides an endless variety of opportunities to run through the soap-opera playbook of screaming, cowering, deceiving and attacking depending on the circumstances, which grow increasingly horrifying.
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.
