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Definition of horrendous adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

horrendous

adjective
 
/həˈrendəs/
 
/həˈrendəs/
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  1. terrible or extremely unpleasant synonym horrific, horrifying
    • She had sustained horrendous injuries.
    • The police officer said the attack was the most horrendous he had ever seen.
    • The conditions in the camp were absolutely horrendous.
  2. (informal) extremely unpleasant and unacceptable synonym terrible
    • horrendous traffic
    • They have horrendous financial problems.
    Some speakers do not pronounce the ‘h’ at the beginning of horrendous and use ‘an’ instead of ‘a’ before it. This now sounds old-fashioned.
    Synonyms terribleterribleawful ▪ horrible ▪ dreadful ▪ vile ▪ horrendousThese words all describe something that is very unpleasant.terrible very bad or unpleasant; making you feel unhappy, frightened, upset, ill, guilty or disapproving:
    • What terrible news!
    • That’s a terrible thing to say!
    awful (rather informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that makes you feel depressed, ill, guilty or disapproving:
    • That’s an awful colour.
    • The weather last summer was awful.
    horrible (rather informal) very unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like:
    • The coffee tasted horrible.
    dreadful (especially British English, rather informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that you disapprove of:
    • What dreadful weather!
    vile (informal) extremely bad or unpleasant:
    • There was a vile smell coming from the room.
    • He was in a vile mood.
    horrendous (rather informal) extremely unpleasant and unacceptable:
    • The traffic around the city was horrendous.
    Patterns
    • terrible/​awful/​horrible/​dreadful for somebody
    • a(n) terrible/​awful/​horrible/​dreadful/​vile thing
    • a(n) terrible/​awful/​horrible/​vile smell
    • terrible/​awful/​horrible/​dreadful/​vile/​horrendous conditions
    • terrible/​awful/​horrible/​dreadful/​vile weather
    • terrible/​awful/​dreadful news
    Extra Examples
    • a pretty horrendous experience
    • The traffic around the city was horrendous.
    • The whole experience was just horrendous.
    3. Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin horrendus (gerund of horrere ‘(of hair) stand on end’) + -ous.
See horrendous in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: horrendous

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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