1
as in horrible
causing fear
a horrendous explosion shook the building
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
a horrendous breach of good manners that should not escape censure
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
emergency room personnel did not flinch even from the most horrendous injuries
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horrendous
Attack brings ‘horrendous memories’ of Jewish history A dozen people between the ages of 25 and 88 were injured in the attack in Boulder, many of whom were older adults.
—
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Money, 3 June 2025
The cost is horrendous and has been largely ignored.
—John A. Ragosta, Baltimore Sun, 4 May 2025
The following list is by no means exhaustive of this administration's horrendous policies and ridiculous conduct.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The other two portals ruminate on the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the horrendous Rodney King police brutality verdicts, as well as furious demands for gay rights and survival help as the AIDS epidemic rampaged.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrendous
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Money, 3 June 2025
The cost is horrendous and has been largely ignored.
—John A. Ragosta, Baltimore Sun, 4 May 2025
The following list is by no means exhaustive of this administration's horrendous policies and ridiculous conduct.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The other two portals ruminate on the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the horrendous Rodney King police brutality verdicts, as well as furious demands for gay rights and survival help as the AIDS epidemic rampaged.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrendous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrendous
Adjective
-
To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
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If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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What’s more, the Steelers failed to score a first-drive touchdown all season, were awful in the red zone, were awful on first down, and mostly awful in short yardage.—
Tribune Content Agency,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 June 2025
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Outcomes for what’s referred to as ‘children in care’ remain unacceptably awful.—
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Throughout the Holocaust, the Nazis concentrated European Jews in urban ghettos, which were marked by horrific living conditions, forced labor and the threat of execution.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
30 June 2025
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And that's a tough sell to a jury that spent weeks listening to horrific testimony about Diddy and his empire.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
1 July 2025
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The terrifying moment that passengers were made to put on oxygen masks was captured on video.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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The wild and ugly scenes saw rioters attack law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails while others burned vehicles and other property.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
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The pair hit an ugly double-spinebuster on the Arabic announce table.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Accounts of government and police repression have only gotten more gruesome, with Amnesty Kenya reporting that 16 people have been shot and killed as of June 28 and local officials claiming that hundreds have been injured (while also alleging that most of those hurt were police officers).—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
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Forget turning on some gruesome horror movie: reading the daily headlines is enough to make just about anyone scream.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
26 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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Republicans seem to try to outdo each other to see who can be the most hateful and disgusting.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
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First came the disgusting pictures of waters so fouled that they were often compared to rotting guacamole.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrendous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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