hideous

adjective

hid·​eous ˈhi-dē-əs How to pronounce hideous (audio)
1
: offensive to the senses and especially to sight : exceedingly ugly
hideous furniture
The dress looked hideous on her.
2
: morally offensive : shocking
a hideous crime
hideosity noun
hideously adverb
hideousness noun

Examples of hideous in a Sentence

The room was filled with hideous furniture. the hideous way in which she treated her maid after she discovered her ring was missing
Recent Examples on the Web The musician’s fate, when the filmmakers finally reveal it, is imbued with slow-rolling horror and a hideous sense of irony — a warning to the present as well as a glimpse of a shameful past. Ty Burr, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 The Emperor’s planet, for example, is on Earth an Edenic cemetery in Italy; the hideous Harkonnens live in cold overdevelopment like rats in a sewer. Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2024 Cronenberg’s genius consists in his rare ability to see that elevation can attend disgust, and almost all his movies raise the possibility that a hideous ordeal might double as a reprieve from banality. Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 What is the significance of a hideous mask made from the hide of a killer whale? Alida Becker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024 The layout was challenging, with a series of small, tight rooms designed for domestic staff and no flow to speak of, and a jumbled interior mash-up of French silk wallpaper and faux-wood paneling that everyone, except for the Farmers, thought was truly hideous. Christine Lennon, Sunset Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024 Like a caricature artist decided to make (us) all look like hideous looking people. Simon Cambers, USA TODAY, 15 Jan. 2024 As expected, earnings growth has improved dramatically after the hideous start by the banks. Bill Stone, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Opening with Colin Firth in a hideous reindeer sweater and ending with him in an equally offensive snowman tie, Sharon Maguire's Bridget Jones's Diary, adapted from Helen Fielding's best-selling novel, follows a year in the life of its protagonist and is bookended by the holidays. EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hideous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English hidous, from Anglo-French hidus, hisdos, from Old French hisde, hide terror

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hideous was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hideous

Cite this Entry

“Hideous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hideous. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hideous

adjective
hid·​eous ˈhid-ē-əs How to pronounce hideous (audio)
: horribly ugly or disgusting : frightful
hideously adverb
hideousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hideous

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