horror story

noun

: an account of an unsettling or unfortunate occurrence
heard horror stories about recent layoffs
also : something unsettling or unfortunate
his childhood was a horror story

Examples of horror story in a Sentence

We've all heard horror stories about airlines losing people's luggage. Her childhood was a horror story.
Recent Examples on the Web And now those former employees, along with a slew of former child actors, have horror stories to tell thanks to a network that failed to protect the children behind the ratings. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Social media has become a hub for dating advice as people have normalized confiding in internet strangers over everything from first date horror stories to the latest relationship tests. Angela Yang, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024 Commenters to this TikTok jumped in to share their camp horror stories, like one parent who said people camp out overnight in her town to register for free summer camp. Melissa Willets, Parents, 25 Mar. 2024 This season’s psychological horror story was, for the first time, based on a novel: Danielle Valentine’s Delicate Condition and written by one writer, showrunner Halley Feiffer. Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024 Dubbed the Maryland Kids Code, the legislation seeks to answer horror stories about social media addiction and emotional appeals over children’s worsening well-being. Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Unlike his brother and father, Owen doesn’t write horror stories. Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024 The sitter is now sharing her horror story in a popular subreddit called AITA. Melissa Willets, Parents, 28 Feb. 2024 Those anxieties continue to grow with each new – and very public – horror story of GenAI going wrong. David Prosser, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horror story.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of horror story was in 1937

Dictionary Entries Near horror story

Cite this Entry

“Horror story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horror%20story. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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