hideous

adjective

hid·​eous ˈhi-dē-əs 

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

ˌhi-dē-ˈä-sə-tē 

noun

hideously adverb

hideousness noun

Synonyms

• abhorrent
• abominable
• appalling
• awful
• disgusting
• distasteful
• dreadful
• evil
• foul
• fulsome
• gross
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• loathsome
• nasty
• nauseating
• nauseous
• noisome
• noxious
• obnoxious
• obscene
• odious
• offensive
• rancid
• repellent
• repellant
• repugnant
• repulsive
• revolting
• scandalous
• shocking
• sickening
• ugly

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

At dinnertime, the restaurant is busy, but not slammed; the crowd seems to be largely made up of people with beautiful hair and compellingly hideous shoes. —Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2025

Within the span of a few days, an innocuous speck can turn a loaf of bread from prime sandwich material into a hideous mass of blue-green fuzz—an appetite-killing sight if ever there was one. —Caroline Tien, SELF, 1 May 2025

The Imperial City Sewers you’re meant to traverse while learning the basics of the game look hideous and vile. —Jamal Michel, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

In each of these films, cruelty commingles with tenderness, and hideous acts take place against backdrops of often stunning natural beauty. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for hideous

• fastidious
• insidious
• invidious

Kids Definition

hideous

adjective

hid·​eous ˈhid-ē-əs 

: horribly ugly or disgusting : frightful

hideously adverb

hideousness noun