Horrendous

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /həˈɹɛndəs/

Definitions

1. Extremely shocking, appalling, or dreadful in nature, causing intense feelings of disgust or revulsion
2. Truly alarming or atrocious in character, leading to strong aversion or disbelief from those experiencing it
3. Remarkably unpleasant or dreadful in quality, which evokes strong discomfort or negative reactions in observers

Etymology: Latin "horrendus" was a gerundive, a form meaning "that must be dreaded," built on "horreo," "to dread" or "to bristle." The Latin verb itself referred to hair standing on end, a physical shiver of fear, so the image behind the word is literal bristling rather than abstract horror. English borrowed the adjective directly from Latin, and the "-ous" ending was added on the English side, the same suffix that turns nouns like "fame" into "famous." The result is a word that sounds grander and more formal than its everyday cousin "horrible," which came into English through Old French from the same Latin root. Over time the word's sense drifted from "must be dreaded" to the much stronger modern meaning of something shockingly bad, often used loosely for anything unpleasant, from a terrible meal to an awful haircut.

Synonyms: terrible, atrocious, appalling, dreadful, abominable

Antonyms: wonderful, pleasant, delightful, agreeable, superb