horrendous

adjective

hȯ-ˈren-dəs How to pronounce horrendous (audio)
Definition of horrendousnext
1
as in horrible
causing fear a horrendous explosion shook the building

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment a horrendous breach of good manners that should not escape censure

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent emergency room personnel did not flinch even from the most horrendous injuries

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of horrendous As horrendous as California’s wildfires may be, the conventional rules of imposing liability and spreading the cost just doesn’t work when utilities are state-regulated and state-protected. — Dan Walters, Oc Register, 6 Aug. 2026 His actions in Gaza have been horrendous and any right-minded person should support his arrest. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 26 July 2026 And outclass the Americans is exactly what Belgium did, controlling the midfield, neutralizing their press and forcing horrendous errors. — Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 7 July 2026 Coupled with that, there is the horrendous storyline that this is a deep, deep family friend. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for horrendous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horrendous
  1. horrible
  2. awful
  3. horrific
  4. terrifying
  5. ugly
  6. gruesome
  7. terrible
  8. disgusting
Adjective
  • As horrible news stories go, few could compare with what happened on a Greek holiday island Monday.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad reelection campaign just got worse after Wednesday night’s debate in Sherman Oaks.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • But that team’s awful 2026 season meant any shock switch was a non-starter.
    — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Kavulich believes that at some point, the situation is going to turn so awful that either Cuban leaders will be forced to change, or the United States will intervene.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • And because Kennerly has captured moments both triumphant and horrific, a warning, some of these pictures are graphic.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The offseason has been horrific at UNC — will the football improve?
    — Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of horrific
Adjective
  • Two Fort Worth school district students were placed on the wrong bus home this week, creating what one parent described as a terrifying situation.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The immersive doc captures the duality of an extreme lifestyle with the euphoric highs of intercepting a tornado to the terrifying lows of being overtaken by one inside their vehicle as Timmer pushes his mind and body to the limit.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • The animation is truly ugly, the characters moving at the framerate of a PowerPoint and looking less like the animals they’re supposed to be than weird hybrid troll creatures.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The wrong paint color, outdated furniture, and yes, even an ugly light fixture could be aging your home and (ugh) majorly cramping its style.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • In 1987, the United Klans of America was ordered to pay $7 million for the gruesome 1981 murder of Michael Donald, a Black teenager whose body was found hanging from a tree in Mobile, Alabama.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Her credits include Obi-Wan, Rebel Moon and The Orville, as well as the gruesome culinary creations of Grotesquerie and drinkable blood for American Horror Story.
    — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of gruesome
Adjective
  • But even without it, there seems to be some truth to the idea that if these teams were terrible businesses, they wouldn’t be sold for billions of dollars.
    — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Not by tightening the siege on Iran directly, but by tightening the siege on those who help this regime, this terrible dictatorship.
    — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • This whole situation is discriminatory, disgusting, and quite frankly, Orwellian.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • That it’s populated with disgusting creatures and monsters, Jackson’s forté, doesn’t hurt.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of disgusting

Browse Nearby Words

horny
horrendous
horrendously
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Horrendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horrendous. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cogent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All