horror
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a very strong feeling of fear, shock, or disgust.
an intense, distressing emotion of fear or repugnance. Uncountable in its abstract sense.
Simple“She watched in horror as the car slid off the icy road.”
In context“The witnesses spoke of the sheer horror they felt when the building began to sway during the earthquake.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
a type of book or film that tries to scare the audience.
a genre of fiction, film, or art designed to evoke feelings of fear, suspense, and the supernatural.
Simple“I don't like watching horror movies late at night because I can't sleep.”
In context“Modern horror often relies on psychological tension rather than the graphic violence seen in earlier decades of the genre.”
Antonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
a very bad or unpleasant event or situation.
a specific event or circumstance that excites horror or intense distress. Often used in the plural.
Simple“The book describes the horrors of the war in great detail.”
In context“The documentary aimed to expose the daily horrors faced by refugees crossing the border in winter.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
a person, especially a child, who behaves very badly.
a person, typically a child, who is perceived as particularly ill-behaved or troublesome.
Simple“Their youngest son is a little horror when he doesn't get his way.”
In context“The nanny resigned after a week, claiming the children were absolute horrors who refused to follow any rules.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
a very strong feeling of not liking something.
an intense aversion or strong dislike toward something. Often used with 'of'.
Simple“He has a horror of being late for important meetings.”
In context“The architect expressed a profound horror of modern glass towers, preferring the tactile nature of stone and brick.”
Synonyms
From Middle English horer, horrour, from Old French horror, from Latin horror (“a bristling, a shaking, trembling as with cold or fear, terror”), from horrere (“to bristle, shake, be terrified”). Displaced native Old English ōga.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.