Synonyms of horrifying

horrifying 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in terrifying

causing fear

couldn't sleep after reading a horrifying tale of evil

a horrifying scream brought people running from all directions to see what was wrong

Synonyms & Similar Words

• terrifying
• frightening
• scary
• horrible
• formidable
• terrible
• intimidating
• alarming
• shocking
• dread
• fearful
• startling
• dreadful
• eerie
• creepy
• ghastly
• gruesome
• frightful
• horrendous
• disturbing
• dire
• troubling
• fearsome
• spine-chilling
• forbidding
• trying
• hair-raising
• direful
• threatening
• redoubtable
• unnerving
• discouraging
• disconcerting
• daunting
• disquieting
• demoralizing
• hideous
• weird
• perturbing
• dismaying
• distressing
• nightmarish
• grisly
• appalling
• macabre
• awful
• horrid
• monstrous
• bone-chilling
• atrocious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• comforting
• relaxing
• soothing
• calming
• inviting
• tranquilizing
• consoling
• nonthreatening
• quieting
• lulling
• pacifying
• nonintimidating

2

as in gruesome

extremely disturbing or repellent

the horrifying sight of a rat running through the restaurant's kitchen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gruesome
• horrific
• shocking
• horrible
• nightmare
• frightening
• terrible
• terrifying
• terrific
• awful
• scary
• dreadful
• hideous
• appalling
• nightmarish
• grisly
• sickening
• macabre
• horrid
• ghastly
• disgusting
• horrendous
• frightful
• monstrous
• atrocious
• lurid
• alarming
• fearful
• dire
• ugly
• grotesque
• revolting
• obscene
• repulsive
• formidable
• loathsome
• offensive
• deplorable
• direful
• abhorrent
• heinous
• repugnant
• unspeakable
• gut-wrenching
• intimidating
• fearsome
• abominable
• disagreeable
• forbidding
• obnoxious
• odious
• evil
• distasteful
• vile
• bloodcurdling
• hair-raising
• nauseating
• heart-stopping
• redoubtable
• noxious
• unsightly
• noisome
• foul

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pleasant
• attractive
• delightful
• delicious
• appealing
• enjoyable
• welcome
• satisfying
• pleasurable
• agreeable
• enticing
• pleasing
• delectable
• inviting
• comforting
• soothing
• cheering

horrifying

2 of 2

verb

present participle of horrify

as in frightening

to strike with fear

the old black-and-white psychological thriller still horrifies audiences

Synonyms & Similar Words

• frightening
• terrifying
• scaring
• startling
• shocking
• alarming
• spooking
• terrorizing
• scarifying
• shaking
• panicking
• appalling
• frighting
• amazing
• affrighting
• worrying
• astounding
• dismaying
• disturbing
• distracting
• giving one the creeps
• making one's flesh creep
• jolting
• unsettling
• daunting
• distressing
• unnerving
• disconcerting
• disquieting
• shaking up
• upsetting
• dispiriting
• discomforting
• awing
• emasculating
• bowling over
• perturbing
• demoralizing
• chilling
• undoing
• psyching (out)
• flooring
• unmanning
• discomposing
• unstringing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• comforting
• assuring
• cheering
• soothing
• consoling
• encouraging
• inspiring
• solacing
• heartening
• emboldening
• steeling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of horrifying

Adjective

Even more horrifying than death was the thought of lying there, trapped beneath the rubble, listening to my two-year-old son desperately crying for help. — Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026

That was the horrifying reality for a community in Ireland in fall 2025. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026

Meanwhile, half the entertainment Hollywood had been making suddenly looked horrifying. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Tina Belcher Tina Belcher, the oldest child in the Bob’s Burgers clan, reminds us of our own misguided teen years with a relevance that is sometimes horrifying. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026

Weeks later, an investigation by the local fire marshal inside the El Reno data center uncovered a further laundry list of horrifying violations. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 10 Sep. 2026

There have been a series of deaths that people around these parts have heard about, victims whose hearts have been taken the story goes, and that horrifying fact signals that perhaps Rebecca and Emmett may have the culprit in their home, or not. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026

Amid the attention to a horrifying Monterey County case, the district attorney made a statement about the arrest warrant for a 14-year-old girl thought to have given birth on a roadside. — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2026

IndieWire exclusively releases the video, which sees the two directors discussing everything from post-production workflows to the horrifying experience of being a young person in a world that often feels brutally unstable. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026

Verb

The complications are horrifying doctors. — Alexandra Frost, USA Today, 24 June 2026

Following her rescue, horrifying details of what happened to Jaycee began to emerge. — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026

In the years since Boogie Nights, Leo has made an unlikely hit out of The Man in the Iron Mask, then took the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, showing off his range and turning that surreal and often horrifying movie into another $100 million feather in his cap. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026

The visage, created by Universal Studio’s then-lead makeup artist Jack Pierce for the 1931 film, was horrifying enough that its influence endured for almost 100 years. — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025

No special effects were required to trigger Curry's stark drift from amiability to horrifying emptiness. — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025

Television cameras captured the ensuing violence, horrifying much of the nation. — Time, 12 Sep. 2025

The grisly murder stayed a local story until horrifying CCTV footage of the incident started making the rounds on social media last weekend. — Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025

Mainstream Israeli media has increasingly spotlighted the dire starvation crisis in Gaza after months of Israel’s near-total aid blockade, horrifying some Israelis and triggering protests. — Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 18 Aug. 2025