terrible

[ter-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. distressing; severe.

   a terrible winter.

2. extremely bad; horrible.

   terrible coffee;

   a terrible movie.

3. exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful; awful.

   Synonyms: horrid, horrendous, horrible, dire, appalling, frightful, fearful

4. formidably great.

   a terrible responsibility.

terrible

/ ˈtɛrəbəl /

adjective

1. very serious or extreme

   a terrible cough

2. informal,  of poor quality; unpleasant or bad

   a terrible meal

   a terrible play

3. causing terror

4. causing awe

   the terrible nature of God

Other Word Forms

• terribleness noun
• unterrible adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrible¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin terribilis, equivalent to terr(ēre) “to frighten” + -ibilis -ible

Word History and Origins

Origin of terrible¹

C15: from Latin terribilis, from terrēre to terrify

Example Sentences

A short drive up into the hills, there's a small pocket of woodland on the edge of an upmarket suburb that could reveal a terrible secret.

From BBC

On a night when the hitters crushed five home runs and Blake Snell completed seven innings, the relievers continued to be as terrible as they were during the regular season.

From Los Angeles Times

"We are profoundly sorry that this terrible event occurred and understand the deep distress it has caused Ethan's family."

From BBC

With the return to the campus, “I’ve been forced to make a really terrible decision,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

But it is the collective cool, rage, outrage, toxic masculinity, hatefulness and terrible, terrible sorrow of the large splendid that makes the production matter.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abhorrent 
• appalling 
• atrocious 
• awesome 
• awful 
• dangerous 
• dire 
• disastrous 
• disturbing 
• dreadful 
• frightful 
• ghastly 
• gruesome 
• harrowing 
• hideous 
• horrendous 
• horrid 
• horrifying 
• serious 
• severe 

When To Use

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.