/hɔːˈrendəs/
hor·ren·dous
BrE /hɒˈrendəs/
NAmE /hɔːˈrendəs/,
/hɑːˈrendəs/
extremely shocking
SYN horrific, horrifying
horrendous injuries
(informal)
extremely unpleasant and unacceptable
SYN terrible
horrendous traffic
HELP Some speakers do not pronounce the ‘h’ at the beginning of horrendous and use ‘an’ instead of ‘a’ before it. This now sounds old-fashioned.terribleawful ◇ horrible ◇ dreadful ◇ vile ◇ horrendous
These words all describe sth that is very unpleasant.
terrible very bad or unpleasant; making you feel unhappy, frightened, upset, ill, guilty or disapproving：
What terrible news!
That’s a terrible thing to say!
awful (rather informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe sth that you do not like or that makes you feel depressed, ill, guilty or disapproving：
That’s an awful colour.
The weather last summer was awful.
horrible (rather informal) very unpleasant; used to describe sth that you do not like：
The coffee tasted horrible.
dreadful (rather informal, especially BrE) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe sth that you do not like or that you disapprove of：
What dreadful weather!
vile (informal) extremely bad or unpleasant：
There was a vile smell coming from the room.
He was in a vile mood.
horrendous (rather informal) extremely unpleasant and unacceptable：
The traffic around the city was horrendous.
Patterns
terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful for sb
a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile thing
a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/vile smell
terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile/horrendous conditions
terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile weather
terrible/awful/dreadful news
▸
hor·ren·dous·ly
BrE /həˈrendəsli/
NAmE /həˈrendəsli/
horrendously expensive