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

Most of them make something that doesn’t need a container and tastes horrible. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025

But just how cute can horrible tragedy be? —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025

During the subsequent century, filmmakers returned to this reflexive mode of cinema for a variety of reasons, either to examine their artistic process, explore formal innovations, expose some horrible secret, or, perhaps most often, satirize the ivory-tower industry itself. —Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025

Their timing, like Joann DePina’s, was horrible, and the gates came down while the car was in the crossing. —Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 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