1
as in horrible
causing fear
a terrible nightmare that woke me up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
I have a terrible headache
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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The Red Sox offense has been horrible this season, but Contreras has been everything the club could have hoped for.
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Your cab driver is taking you on a horrible route.
Adjective
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Indie Shakes managing director David Melville distills his production around scenes of intense conflict.
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As the planet warms, extreme heat events are becoming more common, intense and long-lasting.
Adjective
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Chicago city officials have never forgotten the lessons of the historic and horrific heat wave of July 1995, which killed 739 people in the Chicago area.
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Many of these countries are well known for horrific human rights abuses, lack of justice and abysmal detention conditions.
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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Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
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The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
Adjective
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The full extent of the casualties and damage may not be clear for many hours, but reports and videos show extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure across the country as residents face a terrifying night in the streets.
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Then the assailant turns to face the camera; but inside a hoodie, the face is no face, just a terrifying horror movie mask.
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 1 Jul. 2026.
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