# horrible

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɒɹ.ɪ.bəl/ · frequency rank #3,368

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **horribly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/horrible-vs-horribly)

## Common misspellings (11)
`hhorrible`, `horible`, `horirble`, `horrable`, `horrbile`, `horribble`, `horribel`, `horriblle`, `horrilbe`, `hrorible`, `ohrrible`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/horrible