1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
a horrible car accident that left eyewitnesses in a state of shock
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terrifying
causing fear
a horrible scream that made shivers go up and down our spines
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3
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
I can never forgive her for the horrible way she treated me
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4
as in terrible
extremely unsatisfactory
I'm never going back to that restaurant; the service was horrible
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as in terror
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horrible
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
There is this cognitive dissonance or horrible things happening in our country.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025
That's -- what happened that day was horrible.
—ABC News, 28 Dec. 2025
Its white springtime blooms actually smell horrible, and the branching is weak, leaving the tree vulnerable to wind damage.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horrible
Adjective
This is just the horrible cherry on top of it all is that it financially can be ruined for people.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrible
Adjective
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Wednesday afternoon, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting horrific.—
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From a horrific account of an asteroid hitting Earth to an evil AI computer capable of designing deadly activities, readers will face the dark and mysterious corners of the human experience.—
Adjective
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Humans could suddenly step into a box, perhaps hear gears grind, and then exit the box on a different floor—and even as safety features were innovated, that was terrifying.—
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Madigan's character, the elderly aunt of several of the students, became a cult favorite, both terrifying and delighting audiences.—
Adjective
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The Hoosiers, of course, are the prime example of a longtime awful football program rising to the top.—
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Mamdani hasn’t had time yet to flesh out his awful, socialist ideas into real policies that adversely affect New Yorkers.—
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Noun
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Charles Manson had turned the hippie identity into one of night-stalking terror.—
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Last December, armed rebels previously aligned with terror groups finally ousted Assad from power after a 14 year civil war.—
Adjective
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Peter offers her not only logic — a picture in which all the parts, however gruesome, fit together — but salvation.—
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The prosecution argued that being on drugs didn't excuse the gruesome attack.—
Adjective
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Experts immediately pointed out that Hassett had used a misleading method known as a cubic fit to make the mortality data appear less frightening.—
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When the sun went down, the Santa Anas began to blow, and the fire shifted into the familiar, frightening rhythm of inevitability.—
Adjective
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The medical ordeals are traumatic and disgusting, but fascinating and full of the quirks of modern life.—
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Having snow, slush, and (eventually) water all over my floors was a disgusting feeling.—
Cite this Entry
“Horrible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrible. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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