Meaning & use
horrible
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Very unpleasant, frightening or shocking.
Grammar: Before a noun or after a verb: a horrible accident; it was horrible.
Patterns
- horrible to someone
- horrible for someone
The film had a horrible ending that scared the children.
The smell in the fridge was horrible.
It was a horrible accident.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Unkind, cruel or very bad in behavior or quality.
Grammar: Informal use: horrible to someone.
Patterns
- horrible to someone
It was horrible of him to ignore her.
The weather this week has been horrible.
Don't be horrible to your little brother.
Word forms
| comparative | more horrible |
|---|---|
| superlative | most horrible |
Common combinations
- horrible weather
- The horrible weather ruined the picnic.
- horrible mistake
- I made a horrible mistake.
- feel horrible
- I feel horrible about what I said.
- horrible to
- They were horrible to the new student.
- look horrible
- The room looks horrible.
Synonyms and how they differ
- awful
- More common in casual speech and slightly weaker.
- dreadful
- Slightly more formal; stresses badness.
- terrible
- Similar, stresses the level of badness or fear.
- hideous
- Stronger, especially for ugly or shocking sights.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: horrible or horrific?
horrible vs horrific
Horrific is stronger and suggests real horror, such as violence; horrible is also used for everyday annoyances.
Practice
Which describes everyday use of horrible?
Choose one answer.
Horrible is an adjective used for something very unpleasant. The others misuse it grammatically.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “horrible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.