horrifying
Britishadjective
-
causing feelings of horror in; awful; terrifying;
-
dismaying or greatly shocking; dreadful
Other Word Forms
- horrifyingly adverb
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.
The film finally transitions from the emotional tête-à-tête to the genre piece that was promised, as Sam and Mary discover they’ve seen the same ghost: a horrifying red spectral vision.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
“I’m keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s children in my prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news,” he said in a post on social media.
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026
I can think of few more horrifying ways to live one’s 9-5 existence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
That desire may be heightened when "social platforms also give us access to horrifying, stressful, violent, and overall negative experiences", she added.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
What did this horrifying event say to me, even as a child?
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
