terrible
Use Terrible in a sentence
ə adjective
1.
distressing; severe: a terrible winter.
2.
extremely bad; horrible: terrible coffee; a terrible movie.
3.
exciting terror, awe, or great fear; dreadful; awful.
4.
formidably great: a terrible responsibility.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin terribilis, equivalent to terr(ēre) to frighten + -ibilis -ible
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin terribilis, equivalent to terr(ēre) to frighten + -ibilis -ible
Related forms
ter·ri·ble·ness, noun
un·ter·ri·ble, adjective
Synonyms
3. fearful, frightful, appalling, dire, horrible, horrifying, terrifying, horrendous, horrid.
3. fearful, frightful, appalling, dire, horrible, horrifying, terrifying, horrendous, horrid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To terrible
00:10
Terrible
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
terrible (ˈtɛrəbəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | very serious or extreme: a terrible cough |
| 2. | informal of poor quality; unpleasant or bad: a terrible meal; a terrible play |
| 3. | causing terror |
| 4. | causing awe: the terrible nature of God |
| [C15: from Latin terribilis, from terrēre to terrify] | |
| 'terribleness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
terrible
early 15c., "causing terror, frightful," from O.Fr. terrible (12c.), from L. terribilis "frightful," from terrere "fill with fear," from PIE base *tres- "to tremble" (cf. Skt. trasati "trembles," Avestan tarshta "feared, revered," Gk. treëin "to tremble," Lith. triseti "to tremble," O.C.S. treso
"I shake," M.Ir. tarrach "timid"). Weakened sense of "very bad, awful" is first attested 1590s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences from the web
It now dawned on the privy council that it had made a terrible mistake.
However harsh and terrible the solution, there would be no other.
That the tsar ivan the terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less.
He died after telling mai to end the fight quickly, because war is a terrible thing.
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