1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
a horrible car accident that left eyewitnesses in a state of shock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrifying
causing fear
a horrible scream that made shivers go up and down our spines
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
I can never forgive her for the horrible way she treated me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in terrible
extremely unsatisfactory
I'm never going back to that restaurant; the service was horrible
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in terror
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 horrible
Emmet Gates, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
For enduring all of my grandpa's heckling for all of your horrible referee calls lmfao.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
Taxpayers should be very worried that this horrible idea will rear its ugly head again.
—John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2025
Andrew Garfield grew horrible beard to deal with Spider-Man fame
How to watch all of the 'Spider-Man' movies in order
Garfield was still a rising star in 2012 when he was cast in The Amazing Spider-Man.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Adjective
It’s been a horrible week for Inter boss Simone Inzaghi.
—Emmet Gates, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
For enduring all of my grandpa's heckling for all of your horrible referee calls lmfao.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
Taxpayers should be very worried that this horrible idea will rear its ugly head again.
—John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2025
Andrew Garfield grew horrible beard to deal with Spider-Man fame
How to watch all of the 'Spider-Man' movies in order
Garfield was still a rising star in 2012 when he was cast in The Amazing Spider-Man.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrible
Adjective
-
These types of horrific events by terrorists are why those of us who work for peace and stability in the world continue our mission.—
Danielle Wallace,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Of course, some eight hundred thousand did die—many in horrific ways—while the formerly enslaved were left to fend for themselves in a postwar state where apartheid was enforced by terror.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
To cut yourself off from people is to lose your connection and way in a glorious, terrifying world.—
Mary Frances Ruskell,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
-
Audio and video deepfakes created with generative AI tools add a new, terrifying wrinkle to scam spotting.—
Kim Key,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Before the turn of the year, Manchester City were stuck in an awful rut.—
Sam Tighe,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
-
This joins a truly awful 18% audience score and an also-bad 5.7 out of 10 on IMDB, where anything under a 6 is almost never worth watching.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Public interest in the film intensified after a stroke of terrible happenstance.—
Jelani Cobb,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
-
United have fallen massively and it’s been a terrible watch all season, bar a couple of highs.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The incidents have dramatically increased after Oct. 7 (Hamas terror attacks), but the trend was already increasing prior to that.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
22 Apr. 2025
-
The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history and the worst domestic terror attack on Hispanics that the country has ever seen.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Surely Yellowstone, with its large predators and geothermal activity will deliver something gruesome.—
Wes Siler,
Outside Online,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Realizing that the price of Remmick's offer is their souls, the living make a desperate last stand that results in the gruesome deaths of everyone but Smoke and Sammie.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
After the frightening threat, the man suddenly ran off in an unknown direction.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Serena Joy Waterford is among the most frightening, dead-hearted women ever written for the small screen.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The Heat finished with an ugly 12-34 record against opponents that finished this regular season with a .500 record or better.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Brinkley in her book describes one ugly scene when Joel, deep in his cups, ate a heap of spaghetti directly from a large pan on the stove, then vehemently kicked everyone out of the house for eating his pasta.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrible. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share