Definitions

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

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

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

He praised the support from police, particularly their family liaison officer, but said it had "brought home just how terrible it is" for victims.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

New York has had terrible luck in major professional sports in recent decades.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

I saw right away that Rowdy had made a terrible mistake.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Vocabulary lists containing terrible

Week 2 Vocabulary

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Spelling Practice, Unit 5

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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 8

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