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: 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
Synonyms
Example Sentences
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
Saddam’s nominally secular regime carried out hideous atrocities against ethnic Kurds and rebellious Shiites.
—
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023
The Portland Trail Blazers welcomed center Jusuf Nurkic back to the starting lineup Wednesday night at Boston after a 14-game absence with a calf injury that saw the team’s defense dip to hideous levels.
—Afentres, oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2023
Both towns have remnants of these hideous affairs, but neither has a Jewish population any longer.
—Magda Teter, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
Housed in conditions described by many as hideous, the women performed dangerous work at base hourly wages as low as $4.25, working on skeleton crews decimated in part by COVID.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 1 Mar. 2023
The video suddenly transforms to show Laroi with exaggerated surgery and a hideous goatee while Deme stays as youthful-looking as before.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2023
While in his plays, anger runs amok, mushrooming into this gigantic, hideous form.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2023
Known for ripping his team in good times (a recent home win over USC, albeit a hideous one) and bad (a November loss to Illinois after holding a 15-point lead in the second half), UCLA’s volatile coach took a softer approach Thursday night.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2023
There was the statement overtime victory in Boston that put the record at 11-12, and then the hideous back-to-back losses to the shorthanded Grizzlies and lottery-living Pistons.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2022
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Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023
The Portland Trail Blazers welcomed center Jusuf Nurkic back to the starting lineup Wednesday night at Boston after a 14-game absence with a calf injury that saw the team’s defense dip to hideous levels.
—Afentres, oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2023
Both towns have remnants of these hideous affairs, but neither has a Jewish population any longer.
—Magda Teter, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2023
Housed in conditions described by many as hideous, the women performed dangerous work at base hourly wages as low as $4.25, working on skeleton crews decimated in part by COVID.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 1 Mar. 2023
The video suddenly transforms to show Laroi with exaggerated surgery and a hideous goatee while Deme stays as youthful-looking as before.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2023
While in his plays, anger runs amok, mushrooming into this gigantic, hideous form.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2023
Known for ripping his team in good times (a recent home win over USC, albeit a hideous one) and bad (a November loss to Illinois after holding a 15-point lead in the second half), UCLA’s volatile coach took a softer approach Thursday night.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2023
There was the statement overtime victory in Boston that put the record at 11-12, and then the hideous back-to-back losses to the shorthanded Grizzlies and lottery-living Pistons.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2022
See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hideous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 27 Mar. 2023.
More from Merriam-Webster on hideous
Nglish: Translation of hideous for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of hideous for Arabic Speakers
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