terrible

[ter-uh-buhl] / ˈtɛr ə bəl /

ADJECTIVE

bad, horrible

Synonyms

STRONGEST

abhorrent appalling atrocious awesome awful dangerous dire disastrous disturbing dreadful frightful ghastly gruesome harrowing hideous horrendous horrid horrifying serious severe shocking unfortunate unpleasant

WEAK

awe-inspiring beastly desperate dread dreaded fearful hateful inconvenient loathsome monstrous obnoxious odious offensive petrifying poor repulsive revolting rotten unnerving unwelcome vile

Antonyms

STRONGEST

beautiful calming comforting delightful fortunate good happy inoffensive lucky mild nice pleasant pleasing trivial unimportant wonderful

WEAK

great

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What’s frustrating isn’t that the jokes are terrible.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026

The family of the victim said they did not want this "terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility".

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

"We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility," they said.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

“Some journalist recently counted how many cops I’ve played and it was a terrible number,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Something terrible has happened, yet Phineas gets down from the cart without help.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Vocabulary lists containing terrible

Week 2 Vocabulary

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Spelling Practice, Unit 5

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Spelling Practice 2, Unit 8

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!