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 charges revealed key details and were among the first concrete public moves made in a grisly and horrific case that had been under a largely secret investigation in the seven months since the body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found. —Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026

On Thursday, another horrific crime rattled the city —15-year-old Jaden Pierre was beaten and fatally shot at point-blank range in a Queens playground. —Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026

The destruction of these two cities went down in history as a horrific event. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 19 Apr. 2026

As my photos of his shocking, horrific accident show, in an instant Stevens’ dragster turned sideways, crossed the center line, veered back towards the protective wall along the right side of the track and crashed violently into it. —Jan Wagner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026

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