horrible
English
Etymology
First attested in Middle English[1] (alternately as horrible and orrible)[2] in 1303[3]: from Old French[1][2] horrible, orrible, orible[3], from Latin horribilis[1][2][3], from horr(ēre) (“tremble”) + -ibilis (“-ible”)[2].
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɒɹɪbəl/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɔɹɪbəl/, /ˈhɒɹɪbəl/, [-bəɫ]
- (NYC, Philadelphia) IPA(key): /ˈhɑɹɪbəl/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
horrible (plural horribles)
- A thing that causes horror; a terrifying thing, particularly a prospective bad consequence asserted as likely to result from an act.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick
- Here's a carcase. I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing. Such a waggish leering as lurks in all your horribles!
- 1982, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Genocide Convention: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate
- A lot of the possible horribles conjured up by the people objecting to this convention ignore the plain language of this treaty.
- 1991, Alastair Scott, Tracks Across Alaska: A Dog Sled Journey
- The pot had previously simmered skate wings, cods' heads, whales, pigs' hearts and a long litany of other horribles.
- 2000, John Dean, CNN interview, January 21, 2000:
- I'm trying to convince him that the criminal behavior that's going on at the White House has to end. And I give him one horrible after the next. I just keep raising them. He sort of swats them away.
- 2001, Neil K. Komesar, Law's Limits: The Rule of Law and the Supply and Demand of Rights
- Many scholars have demonstrated these horribles and contemplated significant limitations on class actions.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick
- A person wearing a comic or grotesque costume in a parade of horribles.
Translations
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Adjective
horrible (comparative horribler or more horrible, superlative horriblest or most horrible)
- Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
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- 1953, Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451:
- Some of us have had plastic surgery on our faces and fingerprints. Right now we have a horrible job; we're waiting for the war to begin and, as quickly, end.
- 1933, James Thurber, My Life and Hard Times:
- Her own mother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house.
- Tremendously bad.
- 2010, Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010, page 599:
- Having now absorbed all or parts of 750 responses to my complaints about Transformers, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that most of those writing agree with me that it is a horrible movie.
- 2010, Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010, page 599:
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:frightening
- See Thesaurus:bad
Related terms
Translations
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References
Asturian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin horribilis.
Adjective
horrible (epicene, plural horribles)
Related terms
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin horribilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
horrible m or f (masculine and feminine plural horribles)
Derived terms
Related terms
French
Etymology
From Old French horrible, orrible, orible, borrowed from Latin horribilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
horrible (plural horribles)
- horrible; causing horror.
Related terms
Further reading
- “horrible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin horribilis.
Adjective
horrible m or f (plural horribles)
Derived terms
Related terms
Middle English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French horrible, orrible, orible, from Latin horribilis.
Adjective
horrible
Descendants
- English: horrible
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin horribilis.
Adjective
horrible m or f (masculine and feminine plural horribles)
Derived terms
Related terms
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms borrowed from Old French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- en:Fear
- Asturian terms borrowed from Latin
- Asturian terms derived from Latin
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian adjectives
- Catalan terms borrowed from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms with mute h
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- Galician terms borrowed from Latin
- Galician terms derived from Latin
- Galician lemmas
- Galician adjectives
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Latin
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adjectives
- Spanish terms borrowed from Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives