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terrible

[ ter-uh-buhl ]
/ ˈtɛr ə bəl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR terrible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

distressing; severe: a terrible winter.
extremely bad; horrible: terrible coffee; a terrible movie.
exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful; awful.
formidably great: a terrible responsibility.

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RELATED WORDS

atrocious, ghastly, horrendous, disturbing, dreadful, horrid, abhorrent, unpleasant, unfortunate, hideous, disastrous, dire, harrowing, awful, gruesome, extreme, dangerous, appalling, frightful, severe

Nearby words

  1. terrestrial planet,
  2. terrestrial radiation,
  3. terrestrial telescope,
  4. terret,
  5. terri,
  6. terribly,
  7. terricolous,
  8. terrier,
  9. terrific,
  10. terrify

Origin of terrible

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin terribilis, equivalent to terr(ēre) to frighten + -ibilis -ible
Related formster·ri·ble·ness, nounun·ter·ri·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for terrible

British Dictionary definitions for terrible

terrible

/ (ˈtɛrəbəl) /

adjective

very serious or extremea terrible cough
informal of poor quality; unpleasant or bada terrible meal; a terrible play
causing terror
causing awethe terrible nature of God
Derived Formsterribleness, noun

Word Origin for terrible

C15: from Latin terribilis, from terrēre to terrify
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for terrible

terrible

adj.

early 15c., "causing terror, frightful," from Old French terrible (12c.), from Latin terribilis "frightful," from terrere "fill with fear," from PIE root *tres- "to tremble" (cf. Sanskrit trasati "trembles," Avestan tarshta "feared, revered," Greek treëin "to tremble," Lithuanian triseti "to tremble," Old Church Slavonic treso "I shake," Middle Irish tarrach "timid"). Weakened sense of "very bad, awful" is first attested 1590s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper