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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrifying
Adjective
-
When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
1 July 2025 -
The terrifying moment that passengers were made to put on oxygen masks was captured on video.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Accounts of government and police repression have only gotten more gruesome, with Amnesty Kenya reporting that 16 people have been shot and killed as of June 28 and local officials claiming that hundreds have been injured (while also alleging that most of those hurt were police officers).—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
-
Forget turning on some gruesome horror movie: reading the daily headlines is enough to make just about anyone scream.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
The fumes are certainly easier to ignore or deny than the visceral, immediate violence of serial murder—which is much rarer, and yet, for many, much more frightening.—
Sarah Weinman,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2025
-
Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t frightening.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
Throughout the Holocaust, the Nazis concentrated European Jews in urban ghettos, which were marked by horrific living conditions, forced labor and the threat of execution.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
30 June 2025
-
And that's a tough sell to a jury that spent weeks listening to horrific testimony about Diddy and his empire.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
The 24-year-old is only going to get better, and that's a scary thing for the league.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
-
This was in the days when only lunatics or scary white punks had shaved heads.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
The 6-foot-7 forward will join Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis with the Mavericks, who are looking to turn around the franchise following the shocking midseason trade of Luka Dončić in February.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
-
The Paris heavyweight routed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opening game, suffered a shocking 1-0 upset by Brazilian club Botafogo in their second match, and then beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to clinch first place in the group.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
-
If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
But Martone is one of the very best prospects in this draft and gives the Flyers size, high-end skill (he’s got plus traits as a shooter, handler and playmaker), and a formidable one-two punch at right wing with Matvei Michkov.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
-
The actress portrayed formidable sensei Kim Da-Eun on the Netflix series that ended in February after six seasons.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
26 June 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Horrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrifying. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share