hideous
/ˈhɪd.i.əs/adjective
hideous is spelled H-I-D-E-O-U-S: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hideous means “Extremely or shockingly ugly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hideous?
| Letters | 7: H-I-D-E-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hideous?
Hideous appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hideous?
- /ˈhɪd.i.əs/
- /ˈhɪd͡ʒəs/
Hideous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hideous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hideous
- more hideous comparative
- most hideous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hideous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Extremely or shockingly ugly.
I’m sorry to break it to you, but your dress looks truly hideous.
- 2
Having a very unpleasant or frightening sound.
- 3
Hateful; shocking.
- 4
Morally offensive; shocking; detestable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hideous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hideux , strident , atroce, répugnant |
| German | scheußlich , abscheulich |
| Portuguese | horrendo, medonho , estridente |
| Spanish | chocante, espantoso, feísimo , truculento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hideous come from?
From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).