horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing painful and intense fear, dread, dismay, or aversion : marked by or arousing horror

a horrible accident

2

: extremely bad or unpleasant

a horrible mistake

horrible food

horrible noun

horribleness noun

horribly

ˈhȯr-ə-blē 

ˈhär-

adverb

Synonyms of horrible

• horrific
• gruesome
• terrible
• shocking
• nightmare
• awful

Examples of horrible in a Sentence

He suffered a horrible death.

The crime scene was too horrible to describe.

The team had a horrible season last year.

He realized that he had made a horrible mistake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Your cab driver is taking you on a horrible route. — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 26 June 2026

If only there wasn’t a horrible storm hitting Chicago right as The Bear is already experiencing its own turmoil — no money, barely any ingredients, and now the building is quite literally falling apart. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 26 June 2026

These voters may come to see that while their political choices all speak about how horrible gun violence is, that does little to stem the dozens of shootings that continue to take place across the city during the warmer months. — Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026

There’s always horrible things happening; things beyond our control. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English orible, horrible, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin horribilis, from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle (of hair, weapons, plants), shudder, shiver" + -ibilis "capable of exhibiting or causing (the action of the verb)" — more at horror entry 1, -able

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for horrible

• adorable
• deplorable
• storable

Kids Definition

horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing horror

2

: extremely unpleasant or bad

horrible food

horribly

-blē 

adverb