horror
Americannoun
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horrors
plural
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an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear.
to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.
- Synonyms:
- consternation, dismay, dread
- Antonyms:
- serenity
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anything that causes such a feeling.
killing, looting, and other horrors of war.
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such a feeling as a quality or condition.
to have known the horror of slow starvation.
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a strong aversion; abhorrence.
to have a horror of emotional outbursts.
- Synonyms:
- abomination, hatred, detestation, antipathy, loathing
- Antonyms:
- attraction
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Informal. something considered bad or tasteless.
That wallpaper is a horror. The party was a horror.
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Informal. horrors,
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extreme depression.
adjective
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inspiring or creating horror, loathing, aversion, etc..
The hostages told horror stories of their year in captivity.
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centered upon or depicting terrifying or macabre events.
a horror movie.
interjection
noun
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extreme fear; terror; dread
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intense loathing; hatred
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(often plural) a thing or person causing fear, loathing, etc
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(modifier) having a frightening subject, esp a supernatural one
a horror film
Synonym Usage
See terror.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of horror
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin horror, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre “to bristle with fear”; see horrendous) + -or -or 1; replacing Middle English orrour, from Anglo-French, from Latin horrōr-, stem of horror
Explanation
The noun horror means intense fear, so you can use it when you describe the horror you felt when you dreamed you were flying on a bumpy airplane with a bunch of clowns. Horror is a powerful word that refers to a powerful feeling, either of terror, disgust, or shock. You might reel back from the horror of a smelly locker room, or gasp in horror at a gory scene in a movie. Horror can also be used to describe the genre of film that might make you gasp: a horror movie. The Latin word horror means "bristling, roughness, rudeness, shaking, or trembling."
Vocabulary lists containing horror
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
See Examples For:
From Bela Lugosi’s original ‘Dracula’ cape to a room dripping with blood, here are the highlights of the Academy Museum’s new celebration of horror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The Social Reckoning was beaten in the US box office chart by horror movie Other Mommy, psychological thriller Verity, video game adaptation Resident Evil and Brad Pitt's wilderness thriller Heart of the Beast.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
North American ticket sales for “Other Mommy,” the new horror movie from Universal Pictures, leading the domestic box office despite poor reviews by both theatergoers and critics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Earlier this year publisher Hachette cancelled the release of horror novel "Shy Girl" by Mia Ballard in the United States and withdrew the book from sale in Britain over allegations of AI use.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
To my horror at 5:25 the shop door opened and in stepped a policeman.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Indeed, I had blocked out most memories of that 2004 Fox reality train wreck until Carr’s documentary reached into my mind’s cobwebby attic and retrieved its cabinet of horrors.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
I had grim conversations with many people about the horrors they’d seen after their loved ones fell into the world of medbeds.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
"We see some horrors," he says, adding that current checks on new homes before handover are insufficient.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
It was also a big wake-up call for families, who may not yet know the extent of the horrors children have faced on the apps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Then, horror of horrors, her voice drops two octaves.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
