terrible
Americanadjective
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very serious or extreme
a terrible cough
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informal of poor quality; unpleasant or bad
a terrible meal
a terrible play
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causing terror
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causing awe
the terrible nature of God
Usage
What does terrible mean? Terrible is commonly used to mean extremely bad—awful, dreadful, or horrible. It can also mean severe, as in I have a terrible case of the flu. (Of course, this sense of the word often overlaps with its meaning of “extremely bad.”)When it’s used to describe a person, terrible often means extremely disagreeable or cruel. Terrible is also a somewhat formal way of describing something as having great power or being worthy of awe. This sense of terrible is especially used to describe supernatural power, as in The wizard is known to wield a terrible force with his staff. Much less commonly, terrible can mean literally causing terror, but the related word terrifying is much more commonly used to mean this. Example: Everyone seems to like that restaurant, but I had a terrible experience there—bad food and even worse service.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of terrible
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin terribilis, equivalent to terr(ēre) “to frighten” + -ibilis -ible
Explanation
The original meaning of terrible was anything that causes terror. That meaning still applies, but mostly this is a word for anything really bad. Terrible used to be reserved for things that caused fear and terror, but today we use the word to describe anything awful, lousy, or just plain bad. People like saying "That movie was terrible!" or "The Yankees are terrible!" If you get a D on a test, you might tell your friends the test (or teacher) is terrible. Or you might also say, "I am terrible at taking tests."
Vocabulary lists containing terrible
Week 2 Vocabulary
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Spelling Practice, Unit 5
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 8
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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.
More on this: Americans are embracing this terrible car-buying habit.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
Performance-wise, they have not been terrible, but their results have tailed off a bit.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
"It was just tragic. It's just terrible to see," she said.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
“Tommi Mejer is anguished over the terrible accident,” read the statement from attorneys Paul S. Meyer and Lolita Kirk.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
“Nine! Please don’t blame her. It was my fault. I… I coerced it out of her,” Clare said, but he was a terrible liar even at his best.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
