horrifying
Britishadjective
-
causing feelings of horror in; awful; terrifying;
-
dismaying or greatly shocking; dreadful
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Horrifying things are scary and disturbing. A car crash, a violent scene in a movie, and an exposé on what's really in your fast food hamburger can all be described as horrifying. Something that scares you to death, like the sound of footsteps upstairs in your dark, empty house or the sight of a bear on the hiking trail, is horrifying. Equally horrifying are things that sicken you, like photographs from a battlefield or the description of a painful dental procedure. Horrifying things inspire horror, originally a Latin word meaning both "dread" and "religious awe," from horrere, "to bristle with fear."
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.
Meanwhile, a group of MPs has written to Channel 4 to ask for answers about what they say are "horrifying" allegations aired by Panorama.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
In the Dutch case, Brand said he was approached by a man who had recently uncovered two horrifying secrets: he was a descendant of Seyffardt, and his family had displayed the looted art for years.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
We have far more intimate, horrifying knowledge about the fundamental evil of power and fame, but little we can do to fight it.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
It would be, of course, impossible, if possibly amusing, to tell a “Stranger Things” tale set in this time with the original actors, and horrifying, if not immoral, to tell it with AI clones.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Ash had a sudden, horrifying thought, and she said, “Please — don’t tell him who I am.”
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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.
