horror

1 of 2

noun

hor·​ror ˈhȯr-ər 

ˈhär-

1

a

: painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay

… astonishment giving place to horror on the faces of the people about me.

—H. G. Wells

b

: intense aversion or repugnance

2

a

: the quality of inspiring horror : repulsive, horrible, or dismal quality or character

… contemplating the horror of their lives.

—Liam O'Flaherty

b

: something that inspires horror

3

horrors plural : a state of extreme depression or apprehension

horror

2 of 2

adjective

: calculated to inspire feelings of dread or horror

a horror movie

Synonyms of horror

Noun

• dreadfulness
• atrocity
• frightfulness
• awfulness
• gruesomeness
• ghastliness

Examples of horror in a Sentence

Noun

There was a look of horror on her face.

The crowd watched in horror as the fire spread.

His friends were shocked by the horror of his death.

His crimes were unspeakable horrors.

His memoirs recount the horrors of the war.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Based on the 2022 indie horror game, the film follows a convict in a post-apocalyptic future who must scavenge for resources in an ocean of blood. —Jack Dunn, Variety, 7 Feb. 2026

And yet, in today’s topical songs by legacy rock artists, such elements don’t heighten the immediacy of the day’s horrors but, rather, run them through a sepia-toned filter. —Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2026

Adjective

The main responsible for the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, Drag Me To Hell, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and of course, the Evil Dead series, is back in the horror genre with Send Help, starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. —Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

Her protagonist, a mother whose love is tested to its limits, is so real and relatable that horror and non-horror readers alike will read this novel with bated breath. —Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 10 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English orrour, horrour, borrowed from Anglo-French horrour, horrur, borrowed from Latin horrōr-, horror "standing stiffly, bristling (of hair), shivering (from cold or fear), dread, consternation," derivative with the abstract noun suffix -ōr- (going back to *-ōs-) from the base of horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle (of hair, weapons, plants), shudder, shiver," going back to Indo-European *ǵ^hors-éi̯e-, iterative derivative of a stem *ǵ^hers- "bristle, become stiff," whence also Sanskrit hṛṣyati "(it) stands on end (of hair, from fear or joy), (s/he) rejoices"

Note: According to Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben (2. Auflage, Wiesbaden, 2001) this base has fallen together with another base, *g^(w)hers- "rejoice," in Vedic, and the outcomes are no longer completely distinguishable; the Lexikon attributes to the latter base Vedic hárṣate "rejoices, is excited," ghṛ́ṣuḥ, ghṛ́ṣvih "lively, wanton," as well as Parthian gš- "be cheerful," Sogdian w-γš- "rejoice." Michiel de Vaan (Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008) posits a single base and assumes for ghṛ́ṣuḥ, ghṛ́ṣvih loss of palatal quality in zero grade. Earlier etymological dictionaries, as Pokorny, connect with *ǵ^hers- and an unextended form *ǵ^her- a wide variety of nominal forms (cf. gorse, orgeat, hirsute, urchin).

Adjective

from attributive use of horror entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1936, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing horror

• have a horror of
• horror of horrors
• horror show
• horror story
• horror-struck
• shock horror
• to someone's horror

Rhymes for horror

• borer
• corer
• maurer
• scorer
• storer
• explorer
• restorer

Kids Definition

horror

noun

hor·​ror

ˈhȯr-ər, 

ˈhär-

1

: strong fear, dread, or dislike

2

: the quality of inspiring horror

3

: something horrible

horror adjective

Medical Definition

horror

noun

hor·​ror ˈhȯr-ər, ˈhär- 

: painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay