as in frightened
filled with fear or dread
horror-struck, the villagers watched helplessly as the tsunami hit the shore
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Recent Examples of horror-struck
Other people were horror-struck by the verdicts in each of these cases, seeing them as a catastrophic failure of the American system of justice.
—
Susan Shelley, Orange County Register, 31 May 2024
Susan Shelley, Orange County Register, 31 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horror-struck
Adjective
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Her parents were opposed to the Russian occupation but too frightened to talk about it.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
19 Oct. 2025
-
That included an incident in a press box at Yankee Stadium in 2013, when a frightened and fractured Kay had to be brought back to a team hotel, or an incident at the offices at Angel Stadium on Easter Day in 2019 when a sweating and erratic Kay was taken home and then hospitalized.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
At the same time, completely terrified and anxious.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
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In May 2023, a homeowner in Spokane, Washington, was left terrified after two large moose appeared outside their home.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For its part, Beijing remained defiant, with the commerce ministry saying Sunday that China doesn’t want a tariff war but is also not afraid of one.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
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Those in the fanbase who wanted Lewis gone four weeks ago are now afraid to lose him.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The boy at the quotation board is running scared.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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The best evidence that the Jets were scared to let Fields throw came before halftime, when New York went for it on fourth down on a fake punt, converted it, and then proceeded to run out the clock to head to the locker room.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The press has been deluged with letters from horrified subscribers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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The horrified screams of Franklin’s children were also caught on the 911 recording.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The shocked look on Byrne’s face, captured in one take, is genuine.—
Matthew Jacobs,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
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Lewis and Picardo collapsed into tears, and Candy’s family was shocked.—
Makena Gera,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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However, its minimal restrictions have alarmed lawyers, researchers, and public figures.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
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The actor remembered that paramedics became alarmed after checking his vital signs, and he was rushed to the nearest hospital.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Limburg said the program is designed to reach people who have not been screened because of lack of medical access or transportation barriers − as well as those who are anxious or fearful over getting a colonoscopy.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
12 Oct. 2025
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Traders, fearful of missing out on the rally, are piling into equities in a way reminiscent of the 1990s, when a feeding frenzy on early internet companies inflated the market right before the bursting of the dot-com bubble.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horror-struck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horror-struck. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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