- present participle of horrify.
horrifying
Britishadjective
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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.
He covers topics in the zeitgeist related to wellness, cultural etiquette, masculinity and lifestyle/style trends—basically all the weird, funny, inspired and horrifying things being thrown at us in this moment of "maxxing."
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
And he goes on to, as the question suggests, accept and construct horrifying grifts, right?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Boyle Heights was reaching a breaking point as a deadline passed to clean up 88 million pounds of rotten food from the burned-down warehouse and residents begged for relief from the horrifying stench.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
At the time, Hilton shared the devastating news on Instagram, revealing that she had been watching live news coverage when she saw the horrifying flames consume her own house.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
He climbs up the bookcase, which is horrifying as it rises up at him.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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.
