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
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hideous
That this hideous crime was executed by 15-year-old young adults is horrifying.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
But the parsimonious Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) gives Varly her old hideous yellow and green dresses instead of a raise (this is clearly the Regency-era equivalent of the office pizza party).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
First, the haunted other-place beyond the staircase’s last step is a truly hideous proposition, making this Wendig’s darkest novel to date.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
And Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is likely headed towards again having to grapple with a hideous trade-off.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hideous
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
But the parsimonious Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) gives Varly her old hideous yellow and green dresses instead of a raise (this is clearly the Regency-era equivalent of the office pizza party).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
First, the haunted other-place beyond the staircase’s last step is a truly hideous proposition, making this Wendig’s darkest novel to date.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
And Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is likely headed towards again having to grapple with a hideous trade-off.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hideous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hideous
Adjective
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During the last two weeks, Sarandos got dragged into two ugly controversies.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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Trump was, by now, back in office, and the issue of CNN again reared its ugly head.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The stumblebum energy disarms us, which makes the gruesome cruelty of the kills that much more disturbing.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
-
In the second game for the Swiss, against Canada, Fiala broke his left leg in gruesome fashion for the second time in his career.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Trump’s taste is the stuff of legend, a sort of grotesque of the conventional, with his gold baroque glop and fake tans and bright-red neckties—everything gesturing toward high-end elegance but always wrong somehow, always slightly too much.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Kuper suggests that, where English hooliganism represents a grotesque form of nostalgia, postwar Japanese civility is a pose predicated on collective amnesia about wartime atrocities.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Critics at its first press screening called the film disgusting, accusing it of exploiting both its oblivious subjects and the beloved former first lady.—
Rosemary Counter,
Vanity Fair,
25 Feb. 2026
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Just last week the president tweeted a vile and disgusting image of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and refuses to apologize.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Magnano then fires nine shots toward Jones, who immediately collapses to the ground as people in the area could be heard letting out horrific screams and cries.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
2 Mar. 2026
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The trolling and harassment members of our community have endured in the past few days has been horrific.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
2 Mar. 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
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Whatever Americans think about what occurred this weekend, with the attendant death, economic disruption and other horrible human costs of war, to wish for anything other than that is to betray the brave Iranian people and its worried but hopeful diaspora, amply represented in our city.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Iran has used those missiles, again, in a horrible way, firing them into cities and civilian centers in Israel.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Both teamed up with Mike Curtis, Brad Townsend and Shawn McFarland for top 10 in event coverage, the aftermath of Luka Doncic’s shocking trade from the Mavs to the Lakers.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
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Coviello, a junior guard, recorded the first of his five assists on a 3-pointer by Kelly that started a shocking 15-0 run in the first quarter.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hideous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hideous. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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