horrific
/həˈɹɪfɪk/adjective
horrific is spelled H-O-R-R-I-F-I-C: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, horrific means “Causing horror; horrifying” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in horrific?
| Letters | 8: H-O-R-R-I-F-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.8 times per million words; the 10,196th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is horrific?
Horrific appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th 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 horrific?
- US /həˈɹɪfɪk/
- US /hɔˈɹɪfɪk/
- US /hɑˈɹɪfɪk/
Horrific 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-horrific.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with horrific?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as horrific from its last stressed vowel (/ɪfɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of horrific
- more horrific comparative
- most horrific superlative
- horrifick
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does horrific mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Causing horror; horrifying.
a horrific sight
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate horrific?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of horrific: H.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Horrific in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense causing horror:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | horrifique |
| German | entsetzlich |
| Spanish | horrorífico, truculento, horrífico |
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 horrific come from?
Borrowed from Latin horrificus, from horreō (“to be afraid”) + -ficō (“to make”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).