horrific

adjective

hȯ-ˈri-fik How to pronounce horrific (audio)
Definition of horrificnext
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 horrific But as the days dragged on, headlines about power outages and water shortages took a back seat to a far more gruesome and horrific reality. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026 The discovery of the children is reminiscent of past horrific cases of family abuse. — ABC News, 1 July 2026 The film has a very avant-garde style, with images melting into one another to to give the horrific tale a hazy, dreamlike logic. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 July 2026 There are some horrific trade packages out there from teams seeking to acquire Leonard for pennies on the dollar. — Law Murray, New York Times, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for horrific
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrific
  1. gruesome
  2. shocking
  3. horrible
  4. terrible
  5. nightmare
  6. horrifying
  7. frightening
Adjective
  • The more time passes, the more gruesome the recovery process becomes, said William Gomez, a firefighter in La Guaira.
    — Fernanda Pesce, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Family and loved ones are remembering Brittany Clark, the former Sacramento resident and Kennedy High School student killed by an alligator in a Florida river, as officials there released new details of the gruesome attack.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of gruesome
Adjective
  • The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • Here’s a look back at the most infamous, shocking, blood-curdling or mysterious crimes and disasters that captured the attention of the nation — and the world.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • And obviously, slavery was a terrible thing, and that was horrible.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • Horton, who married Rickman in 2012 in a private ceremony after more than 40 years together, also told the outlet that the diagnosis had been a horrible shock to them both.
    — Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • With all the terrible news of layoffs and that the games industry is in a dire state, some people online have said a crash is the only way to fix things.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • With Te Fiti gone, a terrible darkness began slowly taking hold of the islands and their surrounding waters.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • 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
  • This is the nightmare scenario for California Democrats.
    — Tom Charron, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of nightmare
Adjective
  • But many did not, as the 1981 episodes tell the grim tale of a young girl named Sylvia (Barash), who is raped by a stranger wearing a horrifying clown mask.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
  • Extremely scary moment on Tuesday night as A’s prospect Ryan Lasko was taken to a hospital after a horrifying outfield collision.
    — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of horrifying
Adjective
  • Spain are a more understated attacking unit, and there’s a sense that while Lamine Yamal has been excellent, there is another gear for the Barcelona 18-year-old to find, which is fairly frightening for everyone else.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • For millions of individuals and businesses who rely on professional preparers, the answer portends a frightening prospect if the return preparer is dishonest.
    — Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of frightening

Browse Nearby Words

horridness
horrific
horrifically
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Horrific.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrific. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on horrific

Nglish: Translation of horrific for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All