horrify

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verb hor·ri·fy \ ˈhȯr-ə-ˌfī , ˈhär- \

Definition of horrify

horrified; horrifying

transitive verb

1 :to cause to feel horror

2 :to fill with distaste :shock

—

horrifyingly

play \ˈhȯr-ə-ˌfī-iŋ-lē, ˈhär-\ adverb

See horrify defined for English-language learners

See horrify defined for kids

Examples of horrify in a Sentence

The details of the crime horrified the nation.
They were horrified by the movie's violence.

Recent Examples of horrify from the Web

President Donald Trump’s equivocation in the face of the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville thrilled neo-Nazis and horrified almost everyone else.

— vanessa williamson, Fortune, "CEOs Might Have Dumped Trump, But Here’s Who Won’t," 17 Aug. 2017
The marchers said they were horrified by the violence in Charlottesville.

— linda girardi, Aurora Beacon-News, "Aurora-area residents rally about Charlottesville," 13 Aug. 2017
We would be genuinely horrified if anyone was genuinely offended.

— perrie samotin, Glamour, "Horrific Restaurant Ad Calls Victoria Beckham 'Anorexic Fashion Icon' to Sell Thin-Crust Pizza," 10 Aug. 2017
Famous auteur and even more famous actress from different sides of the tracks—on one side, Harvard; on the other, an education by way of Real Housewives of Orange County marathons—making terrifying, horrifying movie magic together?

— kenzie bryant, Vanities, "Jennifer Lawrence’s Boyfriend, Darron Aronofsky, Doesn’t Understand Her Housewives Obsession," 9 Aug. 2017
Ali’s family and Ali himself would be horrified at the thought of enshrining him in a full-size statue in the rotunda.

— joseph gerth, The Courier-Journal, "Jefferson Davis statue should go, but Muhammad Ali is the wrong choice | Joseph Gerth," 25 July 2017
Forrest refused customary contrition, horrifying the starched upper class (and delighting Americans with his brash defiance).

— betsy golden kellem, Smithsonian, "When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British," 19 July 2017
Noam Galai/Getty BuzzFeed's new report about the famed R&B singer is horrifying.

— jack moore, GQ, "Multiple Parents Claim R. Kelly Is Holding Their Daughters in a Sex Cult," 17 July 2017
Children looking for crawdads in a creek near where the Paseo and Meyer Boulevard branch apart found something horrifying instead.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "Jacqueline Davis was bound and her body left in a ravine near the Paseo," 16 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'horrify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of horrify

1791

horrify Synonyms

Synonyms

affright, alarm (also alarum), fright, frighten, panic, scare, scarify, shock, spook, startle, terrify, terrorize

Antonyms

reassure

Related Words

appall (also appal), bowl over, dismay, floor, jolt, shake, shake up; amaze, astound, awe; chill, daunt, demoralize, dispirit, emasculate, psych (out), undo, unman, unnerve, unstring; discomfort, discompose, disconcert, disquiet, distract, distress, disturb, perturb, unsettle, upset, worry

Near Antonyms

assure, cheer, comfort, console, solace, soothe; embolden, encourage, hearten, inspire, steel

Synonym Discussion of horrify

dismay, appall, horrify, daunt mean to unnerve or deter by arousing fear, apprehension, or aversion. dismay implies that one is disconcerted and at a loss as to how to deal with something.