# terrible

Pronunciation: say "TAIR-uh-buhl" /ˈtɛɹəbəl/

## Adjective

1. Very bad or unpleasant; of very poor quality.
   - Simple: Very bad, or very unpleasant to have or go through.
   - _Reviewers called the hotel's service terrible and wildly overpriced._
   - _His handwriting is so terrible that no one can read his notes._
2. So frightening or dreadful that it fills people with real terror, often mixed with awe, as a war, a storm, or a monster can, not merely bad or unpleasant.
   - Simple: Causing great fear, making people feel afraid.
   - _The storm god was depicted as a terrible figure who could level whole cities._
   - _The army marched beneath the banner of a terrible and vengeful king._
3. Very great or extreme in degree or extent.
   - Simple: Very great in amount or strength.
   - _He felt a terrible hunger after several days without food._
   - _The defenders faced terrible odds against a far larger force._
4. Of a person, unwell in how one feels or looks, or weighed down by guilt or unhappiness over something.
   - Simple: Of a person: feeling or looking sick, or feeling very sorry or unhappy about something.
   - _You look terrible; did you get any sleep last night?_
   - _He felt terrible about the harsh things he had said to his brother at the wedding._
5. Formidable; powerful enough to inspire fear or respect.
   - Simple: Strong or powerful enough to make others feel fear or respect.
   - _In battle the young queen was terrible, and her enemies fled at the sight of her banner._
   - _The general commanded a terrible army feared across the whole region._

## Adverb

6. To a great degree; very or extremely; used colloquially and in some dialects. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Very or extremely, used informally in some regions.
   - _She was terrible pleased to see the children come home safe._
   - _That stew smells terrible good, doesn't it?_

## Origin

Latin terreō ('I frighten, terrify, scare away') gave terribilis ('frightful'), which passed through Old French terrible to Middle English terrible, and the modern word is inherited from that. Terror and deter are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/terrible (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).