horrid

adjective

hor·​rid ˈhȯr-əd 

ˈhär-

1

: innately offensive or repulsive:

a

: inspiring horror : shocking

horrid living conditions

b

: inspiring disgust or loathing : nasty

a horrid man

c

: extremely bad or unpleasant : horrible

the tenor bell … gives out a horrid discordant noise

—Robert Graves

2

archaic : rough, bristling

horridly adverb

horridness noun

Synonyms

• awful
• horrible
• ugly
• disgusting
• hideous
• sickening
• dreadful
• shocking
• obscene
• obnoxious
• offensive
• nasty

Examples of horrid in a Sentence

People there are living in horrid conditions.

He's a horrid little man.

Recent Examples on the Web

An innocent fellow named TimMet a zombie quite horrid and grim. —Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025

Employing the term evokes a horrid history of institutional abuse against gay people. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2025

The Tigers won two of three against the Mariners early in the season, then got swept by Seattle at home and were outscored 35-14 during a July series that marked the start of a horrid slide. —Zack Meisel, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

But the Bengals have a horrid ground game and couldn’t feed the ball consistently to their two best playmakers against the Vikings, and got walloped for it. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for horrid

• florid
• torrid

Kids Definition

horrid

adjective

hor·​rid ˈhȯr-əd 

ˈhär-

1

: inspiring horror : shocking

2

a

: arousing disgust : nasty

a horrid man

b

: horrible sense 2

had horrid manners

horridly adverb

horridness noun