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

Others are stretched across agonizing stretches of silence while Barrett lets an audience stare into the darkness and imagine every horrible possibility before finally springing the trap. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

As horrible news stories go, few could compare with what happened on a Greek holiday island Monday. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad reelection campaign just got worse after Wednesday night’s debate in Sherman Oaks. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

After that horrible 2011 stab at the scifi superhero with Ryan Reynolds in it, Hal Jordan (played by Kyle Chandler) returns in a more somber but certainly enjoyable eight-episode series on HBO. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 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