Terrible — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

causing fear or dread or terror

exceptionally bad or displeasing

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/tˈɛɹᵻbəl/

🇬🇧British English

/tˈɛɹɪbəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/tˈɛɹɪbəl/

2 syllables Say it as /tˈɛɹᵻbəl/.

Examples

the awful war
an awful risk
dire news

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

frightful dreadful unspeakable wicked frightening atrocious horrific severe abominable direful horrendous tremendous fearsome dreaded dread dire painful fearful awful

Parts of Speech

adjective	causing fear or dread or terror “the awful war”
adjective	exceptionally bad or displeasing “atrocious taste”
adjective	intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality “severe pain”
adjective	extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact “in a frightful hurry”

Word Forms

awfulness	noun	a quality of extreme unpleasantness
dread	noun	fearful expectation or anticipation
terribleness	noun	a quality of extreme unpleasantness
dreadfulness	noun	a quality of extreme unpleasantness
severeness	noun	used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
severity	noun	used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schrecklich

Angst, Schrecken oder Schrecken hervorrufen

🇪🇸Spanish

horrible

causando miedo o pavor o terror

🇮🇹Italian

terribile

provocando paura, terrore o terrore

🇳🇱Dutch

vreselijk

het veroorzaken van angst, vrees of terreur

🇵🇹Portuguese

terrível

causando medo ou pavor ou terror

🇷🇺Russian

ужасный

вызывая страх, ужас или ужас

India

🇮🇳Hindi

भयानक

डर या खौफ या आतंक पैदा करना

🇧🇩Bengali

ভয়ানক

ভয় বা ভয় বা সন্ত্রাস সৃষ্টি করা

🇮🇳Tamil

பயங்கரமான

பயம் அல்லது பயம் அல்லது பயத்தை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

భయంకరమైన

భయం లేదా భయం లేదా భయాన్ని కలిగించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

भयंकर

भीती किंवा भीती किंवा दहशत निर्माण करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ભયંકર

ભય અથવા ભય અથવા આતંકનું કારણ બને છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಭಯಾನಕ

ಭಯ ಅಥವಾ ಭಯ ಅಥವಾ ಭಯವನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഭയങ്കരം

ഭയമോ ഭയമോ ഭയമോ ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਭਿਆਨਕ

ਡਰ ਜਾਂ ਡਰ ਜਾਂ ਦਹਿਸ਼ਤ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਣਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

خوفناک

خوف یا خوف یا دہشت کا سبب بننا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

糟糕的

引起恐惧或恐惧或恐怖

🇯🇵Japanese

ひどい

恐怖や恐れや恐怖を引き起こす

🇰🇷Korean

끔찍한

두려움이나 두려움, 공포를 불러일으키는

🇻🇳Vietnamese

kinh khủng

gây ra sự sợ hãi hoặc sợ hãi hoặc khủng bố

🇹🇭Thai

ย่ำแย่

ทำให้เกิดความหวาดกลัวหรือความหวาดกลัวหรือความหวาดกลัว

🇮🇩Indonesian

sangat buruk

menimbulkan rasa takut, takut, atau teror

🇵🇭Filipino

kakila-kilabot

nagdudulot ng takot o pangamba o sindak

🇲🇾Malay

dahsyat

menyebabkan ketakutan atau ketakutan atau ketakutan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

رهيب

مما يسبب الخوف أو الرهبة أو الرعب

🇮🇷Persian

وحشتناک

ایجاد ترس یا ترس یا وحشت

🇹🇷Turkish

korkunç

korkuya, dehşete veya teröre neden olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

נוֹרָא

גורם לפחד או אימה או אימה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'terrible'?

The primary meaning of 'terrible' is 'causing fear or dread or terror'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'terrible' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'terrible' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'terrible' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'terrible' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'terrible' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'terrible' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'terrible' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'terrible' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'terrible' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'terrible' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted