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
Related 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
Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
And in addition to the swing itself, his overall approach at the plate has always been horrible.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 19 June 2025
With guidance from Benny’s older sister and her campus-legend boyfriend, Benny and Carmen juggle horrible hookups, flavored vodka, and fake IDs.
—Peter White, Deadline, 16 June 2025
But when Baker answered her phone, the horrible answer to that question began to unfold.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Noun
The first is the fact that PC performance is horrible, and for many, seemingly getting worse over time with Capcom’s fixes failing or not coming fast enough, even months after release.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
And in addition to the swing itself, his overall approach at the plate has always been horrible.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 19 June 2025
With guidance from Benny’s older sister and her campus-legend boyfriend, Benny and Carmen juggle horrible hookups, flavored vodka, and fake IDs.
—Peter White, Deadline, 16 June 2025
But when Baker answered her phone, the horrible answer to that question began to unfold.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrible
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
The terrifying moment that passengers were made to put on oxygen masks was captured on video.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Outcomes for what’s referred to as ‘children in care’ remain unacceptably awful.—
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Gi-hun is left with a terrible choice: kill the baby and survive, or sacrifice himself so that the baby can live.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Prosecutors are adding new first-degree murder charges to those already faced by terror suspect, who remains jailed.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
1 July 2025
-
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are concerned about the potential for copycat attacks from the New Orleans terror attack on New Year's Day, as well as homegrown extremists.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.—
Sarah Weinman,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2025
-
Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
The pair hit an ugly double-spinebuster on the Arabic announce table.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrible. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share