horrify

horrify

English

Etymology

horror +‎ -ify, or borrowed from Latin horrificare (cf. French horrifier). 1791, in form horrifying.[1]

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒɹɪfaɪ/
• (US) enPR: hôrʹə-fī, IPA^(key): /ˈhɔɹəfaɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

horrify (third-person singular simple present horrifies, present participle horrifying, simple past and past participle horrified)

1. To cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease; to cause to experience horror.

   The haunted house was horrifying, from one room to the next I felt more and more like I wasn’t going to survive.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:frighten

Derived terms

• horrification

Related terms

• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horror
• horrendous

Translations

to cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease

Bulgarian: ужасявам (bg) (užasjavam), шокирам (bg) (šokiram) Czech: děsit Finnish: kauhistuttaa (fi), hirvittää (fi)

Romanian: înfiora (ro), îngrozi (ro), oripila (ro) Spanish: horripilar (es)

References

1. “horrify” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.