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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in gruesome
extremely disturbing or repellent
the horrifying sight of a rat running through the restaurant's kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frightening
to strike with fear
the old black-and-white psychological thriller still horrifies audiences
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Recent Examples of horrifying
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026
Having catalogued the Black Death’s horrifying effects, Ibn Khatima went on to outline a series of preventative measures and active treatments designed to combat this merciless scourge.
—Literary Hub, 27 May 2026
The objects and beings studied by your book’s Antimemetics Division range from horrifying and potentially world-destroying to just kind of weird.
—Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 27 May 2026
His wish is granted to horrifying results that have won over critics, who gave it a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026
But needy, possessive Nikki smothers Bear, and what plays out is a horrifying tale of obsessive love gone wrong — sour, curdled and violent.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026
Last December, in another horrifying unprovoked incident on the T, a group of teens assaulted and filmed an attack and robbery on an 18-year-old rider attempting to board an Orange Line train at Downtown Crossing – a neighborhood plagued by violent crime.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 23 May 2026
Wildlife agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) and FBI Special Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) team up to uncover the horrifying details behind her death.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
With horrifying regularity, a young man carries out a mass shooting with weapons bearing neo-Nazi or hateful references scrawled in white.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 May 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
Adjective
The last episode involved horrifying doll monsters and a very illuminating mushroom trip.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026
Having catalogued the Black Death’s horrifying effects, Ibn Khatima went on to outline a series of preventative measures and active treatments designed to combat this merciless scourge.
—Literary Hub, 27 May 2026
The objects and beings studied by your book’s Antimemetics Division range from horrifying and potentially world-destroying to just kind of weird.
—Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 27 May 2026
His wish is granted to horrifying results that have won over critics, who gave it a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026
But needy, possessive Nikki smothers Bear, and what plays out is a horrifying tale of obsessive love gone wrong — sour, curdled and violent.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026
Last December, in another horrifying unprovoked incident on the T, a group of teens assaulted and filmed an attack and robbery on an 18-year-old rider attempting to board an Orange Line train at Downtown Crossing – a neighborhood plagued by violent crime.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 23 May 2026
Wildlife agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) and FBI Special Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) team up to uncover the horrifying details behind her death.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
With horrifying regularity, a young man carries out a mass shooting with weapons bearing neo-Nazi or hateful references scrawled in white.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
Verb
The complications are horrifying doctors.
—Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 May 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrifying
Adjective
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Inside the building, a terrifying hourslong ordeal was just beginning for those who couldn’t get out.—
Maria Aguilar Prieto,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
-
Some things in life are fundamentally different in ways that no one ever realizes ahead of time, and the amazing feeling of G-forces in my butt, very like flying on the ground, was at once a 10/10 gratifying and terrifying experience.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
With Chubb and Phillips still on the mend from gruesome injuries the year prior, the then-rookie was thought to be the heir apparent.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2026
-
The case has been widely reported by China’s heavily state censored media for the gruesome details of how Xu plotted the murder.—
Sylvie Zhuang,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
-
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Adjective
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Dealing with termites can be a scary burden, and a new report reveals some cities are more termite-prone than others.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
8 June 2026
-
Flying on Broadway is often scary.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
In 1984, following Operation Blue Star, the assassination of India's prime minister by her Sikh bodyguard triggered horrific mob violence that killed thousands of Sikhs across the country, pushing many more to flee.—
Akash Pamarthy,
NPR,
6 June 2026
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In this true crime documentary, Emmy-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus and her team examine the timeline leading up to the horrific incident, offering a different explanation behind one of New York's worst motor vehicle accidents.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
New luxury tax thresholds were introduced, imposing punitive roster-building restrictions on big spenders, scaring teams away from keeping their championship cores intact.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
7 June 2026
-
Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment My medium skin tone is prone to dark spots, but the Sunday Riley Good Genes elixir combats scaring.—
Ruby McAuliffe,
InStyle,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Savages’ social standing has dwindled to the point that only their equally horrible, grasping neighbors, the Bennetts (Richard McCabe and Vicki Pepperdine, both very funny), will fraternize with them.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
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Without an ecosystem of competitive bids like Kalshi's, the customer usually walks away with a horrible deal.—
Ananya Chetia,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
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Crayton said that the decision to allow Alabama to ignore the lower court’s ruling was shocking.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Horrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrifying. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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