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

The new limited series picks up five years after that storyline, delving further into the timeline where a horrible virus turned Earth's mightiest heroes (and villains) into flesh-eating monsters. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2025

So, a lot of horrible things are happening, but there are also some funny things happening. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025

Workaholic Adam’s affair with Kayleigh was a horrible weight that Susannah had to carry. —Sarah John, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025

So two decades of my leading lady years were taken away from me by that horrible person — who did so much worse to other people. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 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