horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing painful and intense fear, dread, dismay, or aversion : marked by or arousing horror

a horrible accident

2

: extremely bad or unpleasant

a horrible mistake

horrible food

horrible noun

horribleness noun

horribly

ˈhȯr-ə-blē 

ˈhär-

adverb

Synonyms

• horrific
• gruesome
• terrible
• nightmare
• shocking
• awful
• horrifying
• terrific

Examples of horrible in a Sentence

He suffered a horrible death.

The crime scene was too horrible to describe.

The team had a horrible season last year.

He realized that he had made a horrible mistake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Particularly when set to the Maybach-only suspension/powertrain calibration, the car just glides even over the horrible roads of Southern California. —Mark Ewing, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025

This rare unity across the aisle in the wake of a horrible tragedy left TMZ, the popular entertainment news platform known for its tenacity and deluge of scoops, on the defensive about the on-air snickering. —Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025

Thank you for your kindness in these horrible times. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

By allowing immigration agents to resume racially discriminatory stops, the court has greenlit a campaign of terror that not only threatens immigrants across Los Angeles and surrounding counties but also sets a horrible precedent that will impact people nationwide. —Norma Chavez-Peterson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English orible, horrible, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin horribilis, from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle (of hair, weapons, plants), shudder, shiver" + -ibilis "capable of exhibiting or causing (the action of the verb)" — more at horror entry 1, -able

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for horrible

• adorable
• deplorable
• storable

Kids Definition

horrible

adjective

hor·​ri·​ble ˈhȯr-ə-bəl 

ˈhär-

1

: marked by or arousing horror

2

: extremely unpleasant or bad

horrible food

horribly

-blē 

adverb