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 of horrific

• gruesome
• shocking
• horrible
• terrible
• nightmare
• horrifying
• frightening

Examples of horrific in a Sentence

horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously

Recent Examples on the Web

The Washington Commanders took the brunt of criticism on Sunday after quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a horrific arm injury in the team’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025

Much of the film’s runtime is dedicated to a time-hopping morality tale in the vein of A Christmas Carol, but even these sections build to horrific moments as alcoholic absentee father David Holm (Victor Sjöström) realizes the true consequences of his selfish actions. —Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025

The latter was taken hostage at the Nova Music Festival by Hamas during their horrific October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli communities bordering Gaza. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025

However, watching the slow and steady movement of a horrific storm on a collision course with my beloved land over the last several days was agonizing. —Grace White, Essence, 29 Oct. 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