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View synonyms for hideous

hideous

[ hid-ee-uhs ]

adjective

  1. horrible or frightful to the senses; repulsive; very ugly:

    a hideous monster.

    Synonyms: ghastly, appalling, dreadful, monstrous, odious, detestable, repellent, grim, grisly

    Antonyms: attractive, pleasing

  2. shocking or revolting to the moral sense:

    a hideous crime.

    Synonyms: ghastly, appalling, dreadful, monstrous, odious, detestable, repellent, grim, grisly

  3. distressing; appalling:

    the hideous expense of moving one's home to another city.



hideous

/ ˌhɪdɪˈɒsɪtɪ; ˈhɪdɪəs /

adjective

  1. extremely ugly; repulsive

    a hideous person

  2. terrifying and horrific
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈhideously, adverb
  • ˈhideousness, noun
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Other Words From

  • hide·ous·ly adverb
  • hide·ous·ness hid·e·os·i·ty [hid-ee-, os, -i-tee], noun
  • un·hide·ous adjective
  • un·hide·ous·ly adverb
  • un·hide·ous·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hideous1

1275–1325; Middle English hidous < Old French hisdos, equivalent to hisde horror, fright (perhaps < Old High German *egisida, akin to egisôn, agison to frighten) + -os -ous; suffix later assimilated to -eous
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hideous1

C13: from Old French hisdos, from hisde fear; of uncertain origin
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Example Sentences

During this war, they witnessed the most hideous forms of killing, siege, starvation, and the cutting off of water and medicine.

From Slate

The rest of us experienced an emotional tsunami that went from dumbfounded disbelief — surely this was one last bit of rhetorical self-aggrandizement that would lead to concession if he lost — to hideous apocalyptic foreboding — this is how democracy ends, not with a bang but with a 2 a.m. press conference.

Looking at Medusa, the hideous woman with snakes for hair, might turn the viewer to stone, but there’s power in offending the eye—or at least rejecting the pressure to be decorative.

From Slate

"Through comedy, hideous historical facts and some banging tunes, we hope we’ve brought joy, laughter and - maybe - inspired new generations of young historians," executive producer Richard Bradley said.

From BBC

It was beyond hideous and life-altering.”

From Salon

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