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.

And we definitely didn’t want to lose the one nonbinary character in the show — a terrible trope we were loath to fuel.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, who were all living together in Greenford, London, died on 13 May in what police called a "terrible tragedy".

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Mr. Paxton is a terrible fundraiser, bringing in only $7.6 million by May 6 while Mr. Talarico raised $40.3 million through March.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

I have terrible hips — bursitis and everything — and they hurt so bad that I thought maybe I broke a bone or something.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

I shook my head like it was nothing, although I felt terrible.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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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