as in terrified
filled with fear or dread
he sat rigid in his seat, horrified that the plane would crash
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightened
to strike with fear
the old black-and-white psychological thriller still horrifies audiences
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of horrified
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2025
Then her old, extremely offensive X posts resurfaced—and the buzz turned to horrified backlash.
—Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Sherman yelled at the audience members, many of whom were squealing in horrified glee.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Maggie's horrified family had to wait outside while investigators combed through the damage and eventually found her remains.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
After checking into his hotel room, a horrified guest soon noticed an unusual detail about the window—now the unpleasant discovery has gone viral on social media.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
As a distraught Jeffrey is grabbed by the cops, a horrified and heartbroken Leigh sits unseen in a cop car, mere yards away.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2025
To be honest with you, everyone on the cast is pretty horrified by her behavior.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 7 Nov. 2025
When the woman ran out of the apartment screaming for help, Burnside turned to his horrified step-daughter, who witnessed the attack on her mom, and began to repeatedly stab her about the body, face and head.
—Thomas Tracy, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
Bell then takes his own clear straw and puts it in Peck’s mouth, syphoning off coffee as Peck looks horrified.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
With much of the world horrified by the USSR’s brutality, Eisenhower was furious that the British-French-Israeli offensive was both diverting international attention and handing Moscow a PR victory by enabling it to speak about Western aggression in the Middle East.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The culprit here is a sequence where a deranged surgeon (Pierre Brasseur) attempts to graft a new face onto his daughter’s disfigured one, a scene that — while mild by today’s standards — horrified audiences in 1960.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
An Illinois woman was left horrified after turning on the jets in her bathtub for the first time in her house, after moving in six years ago.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
The crimes committed by Hamas and other armed factions on that day horrified us.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025
Family members of Kinman’s biological father said in a statement that they were horrified at the news.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
Visitors, many from other countries, would be horrified by such industrialization of these world-class destinations.
—Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Yang plays Kieran Culkin’s stand-in, his arms nightmarishly chainsawed off as Ashley Padilla’s Catherine O’Hara equivalent lets out a series of horrified shrieks.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2025
Then her old, extremely offensive X posts resurfaced—and the buzz turned to horrified backlash.
—Alex Apatoff, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
Sherman yelled at the audience members, many of whom were squealing in horrified glee.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Maggie's horrified family had to wait outside while investigators combed through the damage and eventually found her remains.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
After checking into his hotel room, a horrified guest soon noticed an unusual detail about the window—now the unpleasant discovery has gone viral on social media.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
As a distraught Jeffrey is grabbed by the cops, a horrified and heartbroken Leigh sits unseen in a cop car, mere yards away.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 27 Nov. 2025
To be honest with you, everyone on the cast is pretty horrified by her behavior.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 7 Nov. 2025
When the woman ran out of the apartment screaming for help, Burnside turned to his horrified step-daughter, who witnessed the attack on her mom, and began to repeatedly stab her about the body, face and head.
—Thomas Tracy, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
The people who owned the land were horrified to think of our sleeping outside in the cold.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
Bell then takes his own clear straw and puts it in Peck’s mouth, syphoning off coffee as Peck looks horrified.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
With much of the world horrified by the USSR’s brutality, Eisenhower was furious that the British-French-Israeli offensive was both diverting international attention and handing Moscow a PR victory by enabling it to speak about Western aggression in the Middle East.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
The culprit here is a sequence where a deranged surgeon (Pierre Brasseur) attempts to graft a new face onto his daughter’s disfigured one, a scene that — while mild by today’s standards — horrified audiences in 1960.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
An Illinois woman was left horrified after turning on the jets in her bathtub for the first time in her house, after moving in six years ago.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
The crimes committed by Hamas and other armed factions on that day horrified us.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025
Family members of Kinman’s biological father said in a statement that they were horrified at the news.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
Visitors, many from other countries, would be horrified by such industrialization of these world-class destinations.
—Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrified
Adjective
-
Understandably terrified, Scott-Miller closed the store to protect her and her family’s safety and peace of mind.—
Essence,
Essence,
7 Jan. 2026
-
When workers are terrified, turnover rises, productivity falls and long-term investment stalls.—
Anabel Mendoza,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And my father—lovable but imposing, a strapping six feet three inches tall with a thick, bristly mustache and a rumbling Sergeant Schultz accent that frightened my friends half to death—loved to tell stories.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Fortune had reported in its investigation that people within the agency were frightened of examining Boring Company after two staffers who worked on the case had been disciplined.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
20 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The opposition ranged from clinical and code-based to angry and afraid.—
Mark Dee,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Jan. 2026
-
From animal prints to floral patterns and everything in between, don’t be afraid to let loose and have fun with patterns in your space.—
Cori Sears,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
What really scared me was telling my audience.—
SELF Staff,
SELF,
9 Jan. 2026
-
That caption scared me for a minute.—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The mom of two could be seen typing and looking animatedly at her screen, appearing shocked.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Fans on social media are mostly excited (and a little shocked) at this latest bakery item.—
Melinda Salchert,
Southern Living,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Authorities in southern Colorado are investigating after a sudden explosion damaged a building and startled nearby residents.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Leibfried was responding to a report of a domestic disturbance in the building and was startled by a loud bang that emanated from the closed door of an apartment.—
Peter Passi,
Twin Cities,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Experts are especially alarmed that the CDC is investigating splitting up the MMR vaccine, which protects kids against measles, mumps and rubella in one shot.—
NPR,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Phil, Myrtle’s son, who lived out of state, became alarmed when a concerned neighbor later notified him that his mother had vanished.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrified. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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