horror

[ hawr-er, hor- ]

noun

1. an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear:

   to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.

   Synonyms: consternation, dismay, dread

   Antonyms: serenity

2. anything that causes such a feeling:

   killing, looting, and other horrors of war.

3. such a feeling as a quality or condition:

   to have known the horror of slow starvation.

4. a strong aversion; abhorrence:

   to have a horror of emotional outbursts.

   Synonyms: abomination, hatred, detestation, antipathy, loathing

   Antonyms: attraction

5. Informal. something considered bad or tasteless:

   That wallpaper is a horror. The party was a horror.

6. horrors, Informal.
   1. delirium tremens.
   2. extreme depression.

adjective

1. inspiring or creating horror, loathing, aversion, etc.:

   The hostages told horror stories of their year in captivity.

2. centered upon or depicting terrifying or macabre events:

   a horror movie.

interjection

1. horrors, (used as a mild expression of dismay, surprise, disappointment, etc.)

horror

/ ˈhɒrə /

noun

1. extreme fear; terror; dread
2. intense loathing; hatred
3. often plural a thing or person causing fear, loathing, etc
4. modifier having a frightening subject, esp a supernatural one

   a horror film

Word History and Origins

Origin of horror¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin horror, equivalent to horr- (stem of horrēre “to bristle with fear”; horrendous ) + -or -or ¹; replacing Middle English orrour, from Anglo-French, from Latin horrōr-, stem of horror

Word History and Origins

Origin of horror¹

C14: from Latin: a trembling with fear; compare hirsute

Idioms and Phrases

see under throw up one's hands .

Synonym Study

See terror.

Example Sentences

Bode, who is biracial and queer, hopes to follow her feature film debut with coming-of-age stories, horror projects and “more gay stuff,” she said with a laugh.

From Los Angeles Times

"It was one of the most important criminal investigations of the 20th Century, not because of the horror of the case and the dismemberment of the bodies, but because of the forensic science," he said.

From BBC

As men chant ‘Your body, my choice’ in the aftermath of the presidential election, the horror film’s handling of its female characters is bitterly disappointing.

From Los Angeles Times

It included essays by Laotian people living under long-term U.S. bombardment along with drawings by children who depicted the horrors all around them.

From Salon

The horror of Dominique Pelicot's actions, the sheer number of men implicated in the case and Gisèle Pelicot's decision to push for an open trial has meant that the proceedings have garnered significant attention.

From BBC

Related Words

• apprehension
• awe
• consternation
• disgust
• dismay
• dread
• fear
• fright
• hatred
• panic
• revulsion
• terror