horror

noun

ˈhȯr-ər How to pronounce horror (audio)
Definition of horrornext
1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay it's difficult to even begin to comprehend the horror of the Holocaust

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2
as in nightmare
a situation or state that causes great suffering and unhappiness had never experienced the horrors of war

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3
as in mess
something unpleasant to look at are you really going to hang that horror on the wall?

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4
as in fear
the emotion experienced in the presence or threat of danger imagine my horror at finding myself face to face with a lion on the loose

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5
as in disgust
a dislike so strong as to cause stomach upset or queasiness cat lover or no, she regards cleaning the litter box with horror

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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 horror Unsuspecting Americans look up in shock and horror as a massive inferno erupts and engulfs them. — James Grebey, Time, 3 Nov. 2026 Much like horror movies, the genre delivers suspense, anxiety and adrenaline from the safety of our homes, with none of the actual risk. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026 After a month of Halloween horror, Williams wanted the kind of crying that comes with a good ol’ sports movie, and Keanu Reeves coaching a group of kids offers a true tale of common ground through weepy comfort. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 Nov. 2026 Like horror, the genre delivers suspense and adrenaline from the safety of home. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for horror
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horror
  1. atrocity
  2. nightmare
  3. mess
  4. fear
  5. disgust
  6. awfulness
  7. agony
  8. fright
Noun
  • Even the worst atrocity has its rightful place and is necessary to the scheme of things, even adding to the beauty.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Today, 80 years on, survivors who witnessed the atrocities that Marie-Claude so meticulously put before the court — and the watching world — are sadly dwindling in number.
    — Natalie Livingstone, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of atrocity
Noun
  • Keeping your porch looking its best will become a maintenance nightmare.
    — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Druski played a nightmare birthday girl in another sketch going off on her friend Tina (Veronika Slowikowska) for eating fajitas and wearing a black bodycon dress.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of nightmare
Noun
  • If Uncle Sam does not change course, America’s unsustainable fiscal mess will result in adverse economic, national security, foreign relations, and domestic tranquility consequences.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Andrew Schaefer, a forty-two-year-old father in Orlando, Florida, who helps people out of tax messes, also likes to wager on elections.
    — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of mess
Noun
  • Given the global deployment of US troops and the frequency of its use of force, the fear was that the ICC would make US officials and soldiers vulnerable, and would reduce its freedom of military action.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Unreleased | Getty Images A spate of bomb threats against passenger flights has forced diversions, emergency landings and military escorts across European airspace this week, stoking fear among passengers and heaping pressure on airlines.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of fear
Noun
  • When James Kelman won the Booker Prize in 1994, the decision was met with disgust by the literary establishment, appalled by the profanity and the informality of the Glasgow drunk whose inner life the novel details.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Mammals exposed to the stream of blood react with notable disgust.
    — RJ Mackenzie, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of disgust
Noun
  • An offense run by a coach of McVay's stature should not struggle in as many basic aspects as this one did Sunday — and much of that awfulness was due to McVay's erratic play-calling and Stafford's inconsistent decisions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In a world so full of dread and awfulness, why not take a moment to read anonymous petty literary gossip on the internet?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of awfulness
Noun
  • Taking the McDavid minutes away gives us the purest form of agony these defencemen are experiencing at this time.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The prisoner in question, Doug Korpi, had also admitted that his agony was an act to journalist Ben Blum, who included the revelation in a broader takedown of the experiment published in 2018.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of agony
Noun
  • The insurance company covering the promotion must have had a fright because there were 381 purchases worth more than $450,000 that had to be repaid, as The Star reported at the time.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The fright of theme drought had subsided for now, but as with any horror villain, there’s always the danger of a sequel.
    — Sam Corbin, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of fright

Browse Nearby Words

horrifying
horror
horrors
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Cite this Entry

“Horror.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horror. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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