horrify

[ hawr-uh-fahy, hor- ]

/ ˈhɔr əˌfaɪ, ˈhɒr- /

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verb (used with object), hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing.

to cause to feel horror; strike with horror: The accident horrified us all.

to distress greatly; shock or dismay: She was horrified by the price of the house.

Nearby words

horribly, horrid, horridly, horrific, horrified, horrify, horrifying, horripilate, horripilation, horror, horror show

Origin of horrify

1785–95; < Latin horrificāre to cause horror, equivalent to horri- (combining form of horrēre to bristle with fear; see horrendous) + -ficāre -fy

SYNONYMS FOR horrify

frighten, terrify; repel, appall.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR horrify ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formshor·ri·fi·ca·tion, nounhor·ri·fy·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for horrify

There's a captive audience for TV shows starring people who horrify us with their behavior.
Our Pop Culture Wish List for 2014|Kevin Fallon|December 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But it cannot surprise anyone at this point that the sorts of things that horrify decent people do not horrify Ron Paul.
The Ron Paul Institute: Be Afraid, Very Afraid|James Kirchick|April 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Understanding is not sanction: these crimes still have the power to anger and horrify.
There's Little We Can Do to Prevent Another Massacre|Megan McArdle|December 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Every day, newspapers and television outlets battled to see who could horrify more people with fewer words.
Pandemic of Fear|Michael Specter|October 30, 2009|DAILY BEAST

This idea—becoming part of the star machine in any way—seems to horrify Friend.
Revenge of the Wallflower|Fiona Golfar|June 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Neither did she guess 196 that something was impending that was bound to surprise and horrify her.
The Automobile Girls Along the Hudson|Laura Dent Crane
Too transparently throughout the play the intention of the poet is to horrify.
Life and Writings of Maurice Maeterlinck|Jethro Bithell
It's rather a dismaying conclusion when it's dragged out in the open like that, and it seems to horrify him.
The Short Life|Francis Donovan
I do understand you, said Damier, but you horrify me none the less.
The Rescue|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
These particulars are too frightful to present in full, for they could only horrify the reader.
The Life and Times of Col. Daniel Boone, Hunter, Soldier, and Pioneer|Edward Sylvester Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for horrify

horrify

/ (ˈhɒrɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to cause feelings of horror in; terrify; frighten

to dismay or shock greatly

Derived Formshorrification, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for horrify

horrify

1791 (implied in horrifying), from horror + -fy. Related: Horrified; horrifying.

horrify

verb (used with object), hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing.

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Origin of horrify

Examples from the Web for horrify

British Dictionary definitions for horrify

horrify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

Word Origin and History for horrify

horrify