- present participle of horrify.
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.
As Ms. Du Feng shows us, the prospect is horrifying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Videos show horrifying, but now predictable, images of entire blocks flattened and basic infrastructure in shambles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Al Otro Lado is another truly horrifying decision with, again, Sam Alito writing for the six.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 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
Most horrifying to Reggie was the knowledge that the Church would soon phone his parents.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
