horrendous

adjective

hor·​ren·​dous hȯ-ˈren-dəs How to pronounce horrendous (audio)
hä-,
hə-
: extremely bad or unpleasant : horrible, dreadful
His audition was horrendous.
horrendous crimes
horrendously adverb

Examples of horrendous in a Sentence

Her taste in clothes is horrendous. a horrendous explosion shook the building
Recent Examples on the Web Credits acknowledge the horrendous death caused by hazing of Penn State’s Timothy Piazza. Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2024 In a tough week, Deadline’s thoughts go out to those impacted on all sides of this horrendous conflict. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2024 This is not to excuse what Hamas did on October 7th, either morally or strategically, which was horrendous, but there really was no hope for any sort of peace even before October 7th. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024 Prosperity under Democratic presidents was so often aided by the GOP’s more routine embrace of limited government and freedom, while horrendous errors by GOP presidents (2008 bailouts, 2020 lockdowns) were embraced much more by Democrats than Republicans. John Tamny, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for horrendous 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horrendous.' 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

Latin horrendus "inspiring terror or awe, dreadful" (gerundive of horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle, shudder, shiver") + -ous — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of horrendous was in 1659

Dictionary Entries Near horrendous

Cite this Entry

“Horrendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horrendous. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

horrendous

adjective
hor·​ren·​dous hȯ-ˈren-dəs How to pronounce horrendous (audio)
hä-,
hə-
horrendously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on horrendous

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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