as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously
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Recent Examples of horrific
Six days have passed since the beginning of this horrific war.
—
Chad De Guzman, Time, 19 June 2025
The Assad regime suddenly collapsed in December – following years of diplomatic isolation over its horrific abuses in a savage civil war – after Syria’s northern neighbor, Turkey, helped rebels overwhelm Damascus.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 June 2025
By the time these diseases reach their horrific final stages, patients have lost the very mental capacity the law demands.
—Paul Fillinger, Mercury News, 18 June 2025
Peasants rose up against the authorities, socialists and communists proliferated, and the government used horrific violence to control the populace.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrific
Chad De Guzman, Time, 19 June 2025
The Assad regime suddenly collapsed in December – following years of diplomatic isolation over its horrific abuses in a savage civil war – after Syria’s northern neighbor, Turkey, helped rebels overwhelm Damascus.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 June 2025
By the time these diseases reach their horrific final stages, patients have lost the very mental capacity the law demands.
—Paul Fillinger, Mercury News, 18 June 2025
Peasants rose up against the authorities, socialists and communists proliferated, and the government used horrific violence to control the populace.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrific
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrific
Adjective
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In the wake of the gruesome shootings of two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, Lee took to social media.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
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So prepare for more gruesome kills, more gross-outs, more insight into how a society might actually look a generation after an unfathomable event.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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The 6-foot-7 forward will join Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis with the Mavericks, who are looking to turn around the franchise following the shocking midseason trade of Luka Dončić in February.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
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The Paris heavyweight routed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opening game, suffered a shocking 1-0 upset by Brazilian club Botafogo in their second match, and then beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to clinch first place in the group.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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And in addition to the swing itself, his overall approach at the plate has always been horrible.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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With guidance from Benny’s older sister and her campus-legend boyfriend, Benny and Carmen juggle horrible hookups, flavored vodka, and fake IDs.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Rarely great, and consistently cringey in that NHL way we’re used to by now, but rarely terrible.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Even the ones that aren’t strictly evil in the biblical sense are often prone to doing terrible things.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.—
Sarah Weinman,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2025
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Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrific.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrific. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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