horrid

adjective

hor·rid ˈhȯr-əd

ˈhär-

Synonyms of horrid next

: innately offensive or repulsive:

: inspiring horror : shocking

horrid living conditions

: inspiring disgust or loathing : nasty

a horrid man

: extremely bad or unpleasant : horrible

the tenor bell … gives out a horrid discordant noise—

Robert Graves

archaic : rough, bristling

horridly adverb

horridness noun

Example Sentences

People there are living in horrid conditions. He's a horrid little man.

Recent Examples on the Web And aligning the blue pants with the bloated orange stripe in conjunction with the white jersey and navy side panels last season was a truly horrid idea. —

Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2023 Jayson Tatum bounced back from a horrid performance in Utah with 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists to tie Larry Bird for the most 30-point games in a season in team history with 39. —

Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Mar. 2023 In fact, due to its horrid subject matter and the upheaval it’s been associated with, some authorities believe the scroll to be cursed. —

WIRED, 21 Feb. 2023 Sunday’s three-act play in London — great first half, horrid third quarter, stirring fourth quarter — was equal parts enthralling and appalling for the Raiders and their fans. —

Michael Lerseth, SFChronicle.com, 6 Oct. 2019 At the beginning of the crisis, Chinese ambassadors were hauled over by foreign ministers and other government representatives to explain the horrid scenes that had gone viral on social media, and to offer immediate remedies. —

Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Africa, 22 May 2020 Across African capitals, Chinese ambassadors are being hauled over by foreign ministries to explain horrid scenes that have gone viral on social media platforms of African migrants being evicted from apartments and refused entry into hotels. —

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, Quartz Africa, 11 Apr. 2020 Now called the Winter Park Express Train, the scenic ride takes two hours, and completely bypasses the horrid I-70 weekend traffic. —

Stephanie Granada, Sunset Magazine, 24 Jan. 2020 Portland is far too good to have this poor of a record, as a horrid start to the season put them way back in the standings. —

Jeremy Cluff, azcentral, 20 Jan. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horrid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin horridus "bristly, rough, uncouth, shivering with cold, inspiring dread," from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle (of hair, weapons, plants), shudder, shiver" + -idus, adjective suffix of quality — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler

The first known use of horrid was in 1590

See more words from the same year