Horrible means extremely bad, unpleasant, or shocking. When something is horrible, it goes beyond just being bad: it's so awful that it makes you feel disturbed, disgusted, or upset. A horrible smell might make you cover your nose and back away quickly. A horrible mistake is one that causes serious problems or hurt feelings.

When you hear a horrible screech of metal scraping metal, your whole body might tense up. When you see a horrible injury in a sports game, you might look away instinctively.

People sometimes use horrible very casually, saying “I had a horrible day” when they really just mean a frustrating or disappointing one. But the word is especially strong for things that are truly dreadful: horrible accidents, horrible cruelty, or horrible nightmares that jolt you awake. The related word horrified describes the feeling you get when witnessing something horrible: that shocked, sick-to-your-stomach sensation that something is deeply wrong.

When describing everyday annoyances like a boring movie or a rainy weekend, words like “bad,” “disappointing,” or “unpleasant” are more accurate. Horrible is a powerful word for things that genuinely disturb or shock you.