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terrible

 - 3 dictionary results

ter⋅ri⋅ble

  [ter-uh-buhl]
Use terrible in a Sentence
–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 ME < L terribilis, equiv. to terr(ēre) to frighten + -ibilis -ible

Related forms:
ter⋅ri⋅ble⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
3. fearful, frightful, appalling, dire, horrible, horrifying, terrifying, horrendous, horrid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To terrible
ter·ri·ble   (těr'ə-bəl)   
adj.  

  1. Causing great fear or alarm; dreadful: a terrible bolt of lightning; a terrible curse.

  2. Extremely formidable: terrible responsibilities.

  3. Extreme in extent or degree; intense: "the life for which he had paid so terrible a price" (Leslie Fiedler).

    1. Unpleasant; disagreeable: had a terrible time at the party; terrible food.

    2. Very bad: a terrible actor.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin terribilis, from terrēre, to frighten.]
ter'ri·ble·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

terrible 
c.1430, "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 1596. Terribly "dreadfully" is attested from 1526; in the sense of "extremely" it is first recorded 1833; in the sense of "extremely badly" it dates from 1930.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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