horrific

adjective

hor·​rif·​ic hȯ-ˈri-fik 

hä-

: having the power to horrify

a horrific account of the tragedy

horrifically

hȯ-ˈri-fi-k(ə-)lē 

hä-

adverb

Synonyms

• appalling
• atrocious
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• ghastly
• grisly
• gruesome
• grewsome
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• terrific

Examples of horrific in a Sentence

horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously

Recent Examples on the Web

That this horrific upheaval comes care of Lucy’s work is the real kicker. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 9 June 2025

This is what Qasem Hassan had feared from the start—that the horrific violence inflicted on Israelis on October 7th would be used to justify a war without limits, dehumanizing all Palestinians. —Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025

There can and should be books that spend twenty or fifty or ninety-nine percent of their time grappling with the horrific events of the Armenian Genocide or other historical atrocities. —Aram Mrjoian june 6, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025

The horrific massacre in India in April, where 24 Hindus and one Christian were murdered by Islamists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, gave many Jews flashbacks to Oct. 7, 2023. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French horrifique, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin horrificus "inspiring awe or dread, frightening," from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle, shudder, shiver" + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for horrific

• pacific
• prolific
• salvific
• specific
• terrific
• calorific
• conspecific
• hieroglyphic
• honorific
• nonspecific
• scientific
• soporific