hideous

English

Etymology

From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”).

Alternative etymology cites possible derivation from Latin hispidosus (“rugged”), from hispidus (“rough, bristly”), yet the semantic evolution is less plausible.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪd.iː.ʌs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪd.i.əs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

hideous (comparative more hideous, superlative most hideous)

1. Extremely or shockingly ugly.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     the Duke's army departed unmolested : but the highway along which he retired presented a piteous and hideous spectacle.

2. Having a very unpleasant or frightening sound
   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, →OCLC:

     He started up, growling at first, but finding his leg broken, fell down again; and then got upon three legs, and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard.

3. Hateful; shocking.
   • c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:

     Sure, you have some hideous matter to deliver.

4. Morally offensive; shocking; detestable.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 9:

     when the wind is shrieking, and the men are yelling, and every plank thunders with trampling feet right over Jonah’s head; in all this raging tumult, Jonah sleeps his hideous sleep.

Synonyms

• frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, grotesque, horrid, dreadful, terrible

Derived terms

• hideosity
• hideously
• hideousness

Collocations

with nouns

• hideous monster
• hideous creature
• hideous man
• hideous woman
• hideous face
• hideous thing
• hideous crime
• hideous form
• hideous death
• hideous aspect
• hideous spectacle
• hideous picture
• hideous roar
• hideous sound
• hideous manner
• hideous way
• hideous disease
• hideous mistake
• hideous shape
• hideous dress
• hideous fact
• hideous act
• hideous smile

Translations

extremely ugly

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: противен (bg) (protiven)
• Catalan: horrible (ca), horripilant (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: afzichtelijk (nl)
• Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), inhottava (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
• French: hideux (fr)

  Old French: hideus

• German: scheußlich (de)
• Greek: κακάσχημος (el) (kakáschimos)
• Hungarian: förtelmes (hu)
• Icelandic: hræðilegur (is)
• Irish: in anchruth
• Italian: orribile (it), orrendo (it) m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
• Maori: weriweri
• Norwegian: fæl (no), stygg (no)
• Polish: ohydny (pl), obrzydliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: horrendo (pt), medonho (pt)
• Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: horrible (es), odioso (es), chocante, atemorizante (es), horrendo, espantoso (es)
• Swedish: gräslig (sv), anskrämlig (sv)
• Turkish: çirkin (tr), gudubet (tr)
• West Frisian: ûnsjoch

distressing or offensive to the ear

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: akelig (nl)
• Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
• French: strident (fr)
• German: abscheulich (de)
• Greek: απαίσιος (el) (apaísios)
• Hungarian: szörnyű (hu)
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
• Norwegian: stygg (no)
• Portuguese: horrendo (pt), medonho (pt), estridente (pt)
• Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: discordante, ruidoso (es), estridente (es)
• Turkish: cırtlak (tr)
• West Frisian: ferskrikkelik, ôfgryslik

hateful; shocking

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: afgrijselijk (nl)
• Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
• French: atroce (fr), répugnant (fr)
• German: abscheulich (de)
• Greek: απαίσιος (el) (apaísios)
• Hungarian: undok (hu), utálatos (hu)
• Irish: fuafar
• Italian: odioso (it) m, detestabile (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: taeter
• Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
• Norwegian: uhyrlig
• Portuguese: horrendo (pt), hediondo (pt)
• Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: odioso (es), chocante
• Swedish: avskyvärd (sv)
• Turkish: dehşetengiz (tr)
• West Frisian: ferskriklik

Middle English

Adjective

hideous

1. Alternative form of hidous (“terrifying”)