hideousness

noun

Definition of hideousnessnext
1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay the indescribable hideousness of the squalor in which the villagers are forced to live

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil the hideousness of the defendant's alleged crimes should not prevent him from getting a fair trial

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hideousness What makes your own skin crawl isn’t just the hideousness of the violence but the unblinking matter-of-factness with which DaCosta films it. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hideousness
  1. horror
  2. badness
  3. atrocity
  4. sinfulness
  5. awfulness
  6. evilness
  7. ghastliness
  8. vileness
Noun
  • Ganfield described the ordeal as a scene straight out of a horror movie.
    — Jazmin Alvarado, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • The series proceeds from a premise that immediately calls to mind the darkly comic horror movie The Substance, an underdog 2024 Best Picture contender that earned Oscar nominations for both its director, Coralie Fargeat, and its star, Demi Moore.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of horror
Noun
  • On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 15 Jan. 2026
  • The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Definition of badness
Noun
  • Supporters see the Colombian tribunal as a landmark that helped end Latin America’s longest-running guerrilla insurgency and hold those responsible for atrocities accountable.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • Both sides have denied committing war crimes, but Amnesty International last week said the RSF carried out ethnic cleansing and other atrocities in the city of el-Fasher.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of atrocity
Noun
  • But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
  • Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
    — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
Definition of sinfulness
Noun
  • In a world so full of dread and awfulness, why not take a moment to read anonymous petty literary gossip on the internet?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The relative excitement around the Rockies having arrived in San Diego at 6-6 is a reaction based on their relative awfulness.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of awfulness
Noun
  • That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
    — William Earl, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Definition of evilness
Noun
  • No amount of gore or ghastliness is off limits for the series, produced by horror champions Blumhouse, as Nicole Kidman's titular medical examiner pores over the remains of the dead.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of ghastliness
Noun
  • Many have used numbers and moral philosophy to fathom the vileness of slavery in America, for example.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026
Definition of vileness

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hideous
hideousness
hideout
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Cite this Entry

“Hideousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hideousness. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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