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 of horrible

• horrific
• gruesome
• terrible
• shocking
• nightmare
• awful

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

Hmmm, a book about climate change, economic hardship, labor shortages, rising food prices, and a family having a horrible time? —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 15 May 2026

Maybe a team has an offensive system that makes for a horrible matchup in a tournament setting, a defense that can shut down an opponent or a player who can take over a game. —Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 15 May 2026

This is a horrible matchup for Minnesota’s second-leading scorer during the regular season, PF Julius Randle. —Geoff Clark Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026

Sometimes, horrible things happen right under our noses. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026

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