1
as in horrible
causing fear
a terrible nightmare that woke me up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
I have a terrible headache
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
that is a terrible movie to let your six-year-old watch
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4
as in awful
extremely unsatisfactory
this nonfat ice cream is terrible
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5
as in poor
of low quality
manufactures terrible clothes that often tear after a single wash
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of terrible
First, that messaging is reaching a smaller and smaller audience, older voters who lived in a time when communism was a real and terrible thing.
—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Unfortunately, Veesaar, the former Arizona and North Carolina big man, received terrible counsel and turned down massive NIL dollars next season to become … a second-round pick.
—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2026
Ousmane Dembele — France/Paris Saint-Germain (+8) Finally scored his first career goal at a major tournament for France against Iraq, and also pounced upon a terrible defensive mix-up to coolly give Mbappe a tap-in.
—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
What was looking to be a brutal Tuesday for Wall Street is turning out to be not as terrible as feared.
—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrible
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Unfortunately, Veesaar, the former Arizona and North Carolina big man, received terrible counsel and turned down massive NIL dollars next season to become … a second-round pick.
—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2026
Ousmane Dembele — France/Paris Saint-Germain (+8) Finally scored his first career goal at a major tournament for France against Iraq, and also pounced upon a terrible defensive mix-up to coolly give Mbappe a tap-in.
—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
What was looking to be a brutal Tuesday for Wall Street is turning out to be not as terrible as feared.
—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrible
Adjective
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Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.
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What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
Adjective
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Katherine Guaramaco described the experience as one of the most intense of her life.
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The president highlighted the military operation in Iran that has proven deeply unpopular, and an immigration agenda that has provoked intense backlash.
Adjective
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What should have been a night of celebration and community reflection for Juneteenth was shattered by a horrific act of violence.
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First of all, the suffering of the Iranian people has been horrific in the context of this unnecessary conflict.
Adjective
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Messi shook off his awful spot kick to deliver another match-winning masterclass against Austria and become the competition’s all-time top scorer in the process.
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But the Windows handheld software experience on the Claw is just awful compared to the straightforwardness of SteamOS on the Steam Deck.
Adjective
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Rebecca Lowe joins Dan Patrick to discuss some of the top storylines around the World Cup, including Cristiano Ronaldo's poor play to start, the United States' potential and more.
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Will the gap between rural and urban America – and the gap between rich and poor America – decline or grow?
Adjective
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This terrifying, wondrous circle spinning around us here on Earth.
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What would be terrifying is to not have that opportunity.
Adjective
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Housed in remote data centers whose energy-intensive maintenance perpetuates the changing environmental conditions that threaten Tuvalu’s existence, the attempt to redeposit territory digitally drives home the paradoxes, and costs, of storage.
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Qatari mediators returned to the Iranian capital for 17 hours of what the diplomat described as intensive negotiations.
Adjective
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The men escape, but their frantic exit leads them through the gruesome Terminus food-supply dungeon, where fresh corpses hang on meathooks.
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With two gruesome losses, meanwhile, Tunisia — Netherlands’ foe Thursday at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium — has been eliminated already and cannot advance to the knockout round, no matter the outcome in KC.
Cite this Entry
“Terrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrible. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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