1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
a horrible car accident that left eyewitnesses in a state of shock
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horrible
Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
That attack on our camp was a horrible thing to listen to.
—Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026
Many of you are miserable, horrible people.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Milan’s faltering title hopes in Serie A won’t be helped by a horrible injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Adjective
The whole series opens up with a bunch of middle-aged white men on an island doing horrible things to girls.
—Jevon Phillips, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
That attack on our camp was a horrible thing to listen to.
—Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026
Many of you are miserable, horrible people.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Milan’s faltering title hopes in Serie A won’t be helped by a horrible injury to Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrible
Adjective
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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
-
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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The frantic energy, the emotional volatility, the crazy eyes — Metcalf uses every tool in her acting arsenal to turn a cheap plot twist into the most terrifying adversary Sidney faces.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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My mom was around at the time and told me stories about what that was like, just obviously terrifying.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Whatever’s awful right now is legit awful.—
Sarah Hepola,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Regardless of how embarrassing, personal, awful, unacceptable things are.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Ball told TechCrunch that imposing the supply-chain risk label would send a terrible message to any company doing business with the government.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
But this is some terrible people.—
Babak Dehghanpisheh,
NBC news,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The mystery ingredient that makes the camera love some actors and spurn others is a terror.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
25 Feb. 2026
-
No one will ever forget—there were people on that train—no one will ever forget the expression of terror on Iryna’s face.—
TIME Staff,
Time,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Vonn badly injured her left leg in a frightening crash in the Olympic downhill and won't be able to add points to her seasonal tally, but the American standout still leads the way with 400 points after two wins and three more podium results.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Friends reported that his pupils, which doubled in size during an attack, were frightening.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Horrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrible. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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