1
as in ugly
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
the hideous way in which she treated her maid after she discovered her ring was missing
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
a hideous crime that could not be fully described in the newspapers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in grotesque
unpleasant to look at
wearing a hideous Halloween mask that made the kids all jump with fright
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hideous
Suddenly the whole thing seemed like a hideous dream.
—
Elwyn "bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026
One of most hideous images in American poetry, and yet one of the most memorable.
—Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
Next, law enforcement must rigorously interrogate the men and women who exchanged chummy emails with Epstein and played in his hideous sandbox.
—Amy Wallace, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
The 4chan logic that turned even the most hideous news and ideas into empty entertainment pervades everything on the internet now—more proof that lol, nothing matters.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hideous
Elwyn "bud" Myers, Outdoor Life, 11 Mar. 2026
One of most hideous images in American poetry, and yet one of the most memorable.
—Literary Hub, 27 Feb. 2026
Next, law enforcement must rigorously interrogate the men and women who exchanged chummy emails with Epstein and played in his hideous sandbox.
—Amy Wallace, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
The 4chan logic that turned even the most hideous news and ideas into empty entertainment pervades everything on the internet now—more proof that lol, nothing matters.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hideous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hideous
Adjective
-
The outcome was already decided – an ugly display of basketball that was never competitive – but potentially losing Doncic proverbially sucked the oxygen out of the visitors’ locker room after the game.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
3 Apr. 2026
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Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Getting cleared of a gruesome crime has boosted his social cache in his upper-class neighborhood of Westmont Village, a fictional New York suburb.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2026
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And in another gruesome moment, there is a frightening shot of dozens of wedding guests covered in blood, with bodies strewn across a banquet hall.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Goombas are Gremlin-like and grotesque.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The finale is a suitably grotesque affair with a body count that’s impressive even by genre standards.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Living under an openly misogynistic president may have felt freakish in 2017, but by his second term, bigotry became yet another disgusting norm.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
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The amount of disrespect shown the Broncos is disgusting.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There are people like Les Wexner and Leon Black who have allegedly had such horrific abuse and there has not been any investigations.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
5 Apr. 2026
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Because their firstborn son had just died, and so that was horrific.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rosemary makes one of the best companion plants for apple trees because of its strong scent that's unpleasing to critters looking to snack on a juicy red apple.—
Ashlyn Needham,
The Spruce,
16 Feb. 2026
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Smears on non-sensor areas of the tiara are like bug debris on your hood, aesthetically unpleasing but not harmful.—
Eric Tegler,
Popular Mechanics,
1 Oct. 2019
Adjective
-
Zack James’ shifty drumming hammers out a drum ’n’ bass redux like a panicked heartbeat while Carney Hemler’s bass lurches in slow motion, replicating the gut drop of a horrible realization.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
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Fendelman captured that horrible silence in the doc, punctuated by Littlejohn’s niece screaming, feral and raw.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Marin stuck to her plan of staying close until a moment that changed everything with shocking swiftness — her changing her mind and going for the green on the par-5 13th for a go-ahead birdie, and Talley adding to the sad history of collapses on the back nine at the home of the Masters.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Emma’s shocking admission rattles the entire wedding party, particularly Haim’s Rachel, whose cousin was left paralyzed by an act of gun violence.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hideous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hideous. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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