hideous

1 of 2

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 entry 1

a hideous crime

hideosity

ˌhi-dē-ˈä-sə-tē 

noun

hideously adverb

hideousness noun

hideousness

2 of 2

noun

hid·​eous·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being hideous

Synonyms of hideous

Adjective

• ugly
• disgusting
• horrible
• awful
• sickening
• obnoxious
• shocking
• dreadful
• obscene
• offensive
• nasty

Examples of hideous in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Adjective

Alabama has been busily demonstrating that the reverse is true, following a string of hideous botched lethal injection executions with a series of no less gruesome executions with nitrogen suffocation. — Maya Foa, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

But then comes the ad, a full-screen photo of a hideous brown leather recliner. — Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026

This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Three seconds later, I was surrounded by hideous monsters who were probably nice kids before the local NBC news devoted the feature story on their prime-time show Weekend to an in-depth study of English punk. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

First Known Use

Adjective

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