horrible
hor·ri·ble/ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/noun, adjective
horrible is spelled H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (hor·ri·ble). It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,364th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, horrible means “A thing that causes horror; a terrifying thing, particularly a prospective bad consequence asserted as likely to result from an act” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of horrible is horribles.
How many letters and syllables are in horrible?
| Letters | 8: H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: hor·ri·ble |
| In writing | 28 times per million words; the 3,364th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is horrible?
Horrible appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,364th 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 horrible?
- UK /ˈhɒɹ.ɪ.bəl/
- US /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/
- US [-b(ə)ɫ]
Horrible has 3 syllables, split hor·ri·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-horrible.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Byrhtnoð-horrible.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of horrible
- horribles plural
- horribler comparative
- more horrible comparative
- horriblest superlative
- most horrible superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does horrible mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thing that causes horror; a terrifying thing, particularly a prospective bad consequence asserted as likely to result from an act.
- 2
A person wearing a comic or grotesque costume in a parade of horribles.
adjective
- 1
Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
- 2
Tremendously bad.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Horrible in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | horrível |
| French | horrible, affreux , épouvantable |
| German | schrecklich, abscheulich, fies, makaber, entsetzlich, grausig |
| Spanish | horrible, horroroso |
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 horrible come from?
First attested in Middle English (alternately as horrible and orrible) in 1303: from Old French horrible, orrible, orible, from Latin horribilis, from horr(ēre) (“tremble”) + -ibilis (“-ible”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).