horror-struck

[ hawr-er-struhk, hor- ]

adjective

1. stricken with horror; horrified; aghast.

horror-struck

adjective

1. shocked; horrified

Word History and Origins

Origin of horror-struck¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

So she is horror-struck when the male director tells her that, as a woman in her 50s, she has a single take-it-or-leave-it option: playing a witch.

From New York Times

My mother listened horror-struck as he told us what he had learned from his factory contacts originally from Narewka.

From Literature

I listened, horror-struck, on my drive to school, then watched your carnage on the TVs in my high school auditorium.

From Washington Post

Seeing Bran again, confined to a wheelchair because of that fall, Jamie looks decidedly guilty and horror-struck.

From The Verge

The two-part “Best of Both Worlds” — 1990’s season 3 finale and season 4 kickoff — left fans horror-struck, as the Enterprise faced off against the monstrous alien Borg, and lost Captain Picard to assimilation.

From The Verge

Related Words

• agog
• amazed
• anxious
• appalled
• awestruck
• dismayed
• shocked
• stunned