as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horrific
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski connected the crowd calling for Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect, to set a murderer free instead of Jesus with today’s climate, where people are witnessing horrific acts and not always speaking up.
—
Alie Skowronski, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
And then, this horrific, mysterious smog shows up.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Further turmoil followed when a horrific video from 2023, of an aggressive incident between the couple where a child is present, dropped on TMZ.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
To the stories and history of his grandparents in the El Salvador of the 1980s when a horrific civil war raged.
—Sara Sidner, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for horrific
Alie Skowronski, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
And then, this horrific, mysterious smog shows up.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Further turmoil followed when a horrific video from 2023, of an aggressive incident between the couple where a child is present, dropped on TMZ.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2026
To the stories and history of his grandparents in the El Salvador of the 1980s when a horrific civil war raged.
—Sara Sidner, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for horrific
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrific
Adjective
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The gruesome images of tanks blown apart by drones in Ukraine did not dissuade anyone from purchasing these systems.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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Because of his ability to appeal to jurors with at times folksy explanations of gruesome subjects like the dynamic of blood spatter, prosecution and defense lawyers competed for his testimony at trials.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The exhibition pairs their work together, showing the value of shocking style in a moment of conservatism.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2026
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Pastor Stephen Perumalla said the circumstances are shocking.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This is going to be a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
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In another case, a 10-year-old girl contracted horrible lesions on 10 percent of her body — mostly on her legs — after contact with giant hogweed.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But Kardashian celebrated its terrible reviews, and the series was renewed for a second season.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
26 Mar. 2026
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One hundred fifteen years later, a memorial to the workers who died reveals itself as a reminder that workers’ rights were purchased at a terrible cost, and that the lives lost there still ask something of us.—
Christina Ray Stanton,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But the 22-year-old is not alone in having a nightmare individual performance on a high-profile sporting stage.—
Eduardo Tansley,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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This is the nightmare scenario for California Democrats.—
Tom Charron,
Mercury News,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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People sometimes got a horrifying glimpse of a fellow traveler in pajamas.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
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In court Wednesday, Patricia explained those horrifying moments.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The idea of frightening children into basic courtesy scares Miss Manners.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Mar. 2026
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Facing the future may mean confronting difficult questions and frightening scenarios.—
Kat McGowan,
NPR,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Horrific.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrific. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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