horror

horror

See also: Horror

English

Alternative forms

• horrour (UK, hypercorrect spelling or archaic)

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈhɔɹ.ɚ/
  • (NYC, Philadelphia) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹ.ɚ/
  • (some accents) IPA^(key): /ˈhɔɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation, New England) IPA^(key): /ˈhɒɹ.ə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒɹə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ)
• Homophones: whore, hoar (some rhotic American accents with the horse-hoarse merger)

Noun

horror (countable and uncountable, plural horrors)

1. (countable, uncountable) An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
   • 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: A tragedy, published 1750, page 44:

     Their swarthy Hosts wou'd darken all our Plains, / Doubling the native Horror of the War, / And making Death more grim.

2. (countable, uncountable) Something horrible; that which excites horror.

   I saw many horrors during the war.

   • 1898 July 3, Philadelphia Inquirer, page 22:

     The Home Magazine for July (Binghamton and New York) contains ‘The Patriots' War Chant,’ a poem by Douglas Malloch; ‘The Story of the War,’ by Theodore Waters; ‘A Horseman in the Sky,’ by Ambrose Bierce, with a portrait of Mr. Bierce, whose tales of horror are horrible of themselves, not as war is horrible; ‘A Yankee Hero,’ by W. L. Calver; ‘The Warfare of the Future,’ by Louis Seemuller; ‘Florence Nightingale,’ by Susan E. Dickenson, with two rare portraits, etc.

   • 2009, Devin Watson, Horror Screenwriting‎:

     Could there be stories with more horror than these?

3. (countable, uncountable) Intense dislike or aversion; an abhorrence.
   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace‎:

     “Mrs. Yule's chagrin and horror at what she called her son's base ingratitude knew no bounds ; at first it was even thought that she would never get over it. […] ”

4. (uncountable) A genre of fiction designed to evoke a feeling of fear and suspense.
   • 1917 February 11, New York Times, Book reviews, page 52:

     Those who enjoy horror, stories overflowing with blood and black mystery, will be grateful to Richard Marsh for writing ‘The Beetle.’

5. (countable) An individual work in this genre.
   • 2006, Pierluigi on Cinema

     […] there were hastily produced B movies, such as the peplums, the spaghetti westerns, the detective stories, the horrors.

6. (countable, colloquial) A nasty or ill-behaved person; a rascal or terror.

   The neighbour's kids are a pack of little horrors!

7. (informal) An intense anxiety or a nervous depression; often the horrors.
8. (in the plural, informal) Delirium tremens.
   • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1965, page 53:

     `My belief is that he had the horrors without knowin' it.'

Synonyms

• nightmare

Hypernyms

• speculative fiction

Derived terms

• Belsen horror
• body horror
• chamber of horrors
• dry horrors
• fridge horror
• horror autotoxicus
• horror film
• horror flick
• horror movie
• horror punk
• horror-show
• horror show
• horror story
• horror-stricken
• horror-struck
• horror-thriller
• horror vacui
• J-horror
• midnight horror
• psychological horror
• shock horror
• survival horror

 

Related terms

• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifical
• horrification
• horrify

Translations

intense distressing fear or repugnance

Albanian: tmerr (sq) m Arabic: رُعْب‎ m (ruʿb), خَوْف‎ (ar) m (ḵawf) Armenian: սարսափ (hy) (sarsapʿ), ահ (hy) (ah) Azerbaijani: vahimə, dəhşət (az) Belarusian: жах m (žax), страх m (strax) Bengali: ভয় (bn) (bhôyô) Bulgarian: у́жас (bg) m (úžas), страх (bg) m (strah) Catalan: horror (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 恐怖 (zh) (kǒngbù), 恐懼／恐惧 (zh) (kǒngjù) Czech: hrůza (cs) f Danish: gru, rædsel Dutch: gruwel (nl) m Estonian: õudus (et) Finnish: kauhu (fi), kammo (fi), hirveys (fi) French: horreur (fr) m, effroi (fr) m Galician: horror m Georgian: საშინელება (sašineleba) German: Angst (de) f, Furcht (de) f, Horror (de) m, Grauen (de) n, Greuel (de) m Gothic: 𐌿𐍃𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌼𐌴𐌹 f (usfilmei) Greek: τρόμος (el) m (trómos) Hebrew: אֵימָה‎ (he) f (éima) Hindi: दहशत (hi) f (dahśat), आतंक (hi) m (ātaṅk), भय (hi) m (bhay) Hungarian: borzalom (hu) Icelandic: ógn (is) f Indonesian: horor (id) Irish: uafás m Italian: orrore (it) m Japanese: 恐怖 (ja) (きょうふ, kyōfu), 恐れ (ja) (おそれ, osore) Kazakh: қорқыныш (qorqynyş) Khmer: ភេរវារម្មណ៍ (pheirĕəʼviərɑm) Korean: 공포(恐怖) (ko) (gongpo), 무서움 (ko) (museoum), 두려움 (ko) (duryeoum) Kyrgyz: коркунуч (ky) (korkunuç) Latin: horror m Latvian: šausmas f Lithuanian: siaubas, šiurpas Macedonian: у́жас m (úžas), страв m (strav) Mongolian: аймшиг (mn) (ajmšig) Norwegian: Bokmål: gru f, redsel (no) m Old English: ōga m Pashto: دهشت‎ (ps) m (dahšat) Persian: وحشت‎ (fa) (vahšat), دهشت‎ (fa) (dahšat) Plautdietsch: Grul f Polish: groza (pl) f, strach (pl) m Portuguese: horror (pt) m Romanian: groază (ro) f, oroare (ro) f, spaimă (ro) f Russian: у́жас (ru) m (úžas), страх (ru) m (strax), боя́знь (ru) f (bojáznʹ) Sanskrit: घोर (sa) m (ghora) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: у̏жа̄с m Roman: ȕžās (sh) m Slovak: hrôza f Slovene: groza (sl) f Spanish: horror (es) m Swedish: skräck (sv) c, fruktan (sv) c, fasa (sv) c Tajik: даҳшат (dahšat), ваҳшаг (vahšag) Tatar: дәһшәт (tt) (dähşät), куркыныч (qurkınıç) Tocharian B: empelñe Turkish: korku (tr), dehşet (tr) Turkmen: elhençlik Ukrainian: жах m (žax), страх (uk) m (strax) Urdu: دہشت‎ f (dahśat) Uyghur: قورقۇنچ‎ (qorqunch) Uzbek: qoʻrquv (uz), dahshat (uz) Vietnamese: sự khiếp (vi), sự ghê rợn (vi)

intense dislike or aversion

Bulgarian: отвраще́ние (bg) n (otvrašténie) Finnish: kammo (fi), inho (fi) French: dégoût (fr), aversion (fr) Russian: отвраще́ние (ru) n (otvraščénije), омерзе́ние (ru) n (omerzénije)

literary genre

Belarusian: жах m (žax) Bulgarian: у́жаси (bg) m pl (úžasi) Catalan: terror (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 恐怖 (zh) (kǒngbù) Czech: horor (cs) Finnish: kauhu (fi), kauhukirjallisuus German: Horror (de) m Japanese: ホラー (horā) Korean: 호러 (horeo), 공포(恐怖) (ko) (gongpo) Macedonian: у́жаси m pl (úžasi), хо́рор m (hóror) Portuguese: horror (pt) m Russian: у́жас (ru) m (úžas), ужа́стик (ru) m (užástik) (colloquial), хо́ррор (ru) m (xórror) (neologism) Swedish: skräck (sv) c Ukrainian: жах m (žax)

informal: intense anxiety

Finnish: täpinät pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Albanian: (please verify) tmerr (sq) German: (please verify) Horror (de) m, (please verify) Grauen (de) n Icelandic: (please verify) hrollvekja (is) f, (please verify) hryllingur (is) m, (please verify) óhugnaður m, (please verify) ósköp n pl Irish: (please verify) adhfhuath m Persian: (formally) (please verify) هراس‎ (fa) (Haras) Romanian: (please verify) spaimă (ro), (please verify) oroare (ro) f Scottish Gaelic: (please verify) uamhann m, (please verify) oillt f, (please verify) uabhas m, (please verify) uabhann m, (please verify) sgreamh f Telugu: (please verify) దారుణం (te) (dāruṇaṁ) Turkish: (please verify) dehşet (tr), (please verify) yılgı (tr), (please verify) korku (tr)

Further reading

• horror in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• horror in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• horror at OneLook Dictionary Search

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin horror.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɔˈroɾ]

Noun

horror m (plural horrores)

1. horror

   Synonyms: espanto, pavor, terror

Related terms

• horrorizar
• horroroso

 

References

• “horror” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “horror” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.

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Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horror.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhorːor]
• Hyphenation: hor‧ror
• Rhymes: -or

Noun

horror (plural horrorok)

1. horror

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	horror	horrorok
accusative	horrort	horrorokat
dative	horrornak	horroroknak
instrumental	horrorral	horrorokkal
causal-final	horrorért	horrorokért
translative	horrorrá	horrorokká
terminative	horrorig	horrorokig
essive-formal	horrorként	horrorokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	horrorban	horrorokban
superessive	horroron	horrorokon
adessive	horrornál	horroroknál
illative	horrorba	horrorokba
sublative	horrorra	horrorokra
allative	horrorhoz	horrorokhoz
elative	horrorból	horrorokból
delative	horrorról	horrorokról
ablative	horrortól	horroroktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	horroré	horroroké
non-attributive possessive - plural	horroréi	horrorokéi

Possessive forms of horror
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	horrorom	horroraim
2nd person sing.	horrorod	horroraid
3rd person sing.	horrora	horrorai
1st person plural	horrorunk	horroraink
2nd person plural	horrorotok	horroraitok
3rd person plural	horroruk	horroraik

Possessive forms of horror
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	horrorom	horrorjaim
2nd person sing.	horrorod	horrorjaid
3rd person sing.	horrorja	horrorjai
1st person plural	horrorunk	horrorjaink
2nd person plural	horrorotok	horrorjaitok
3rd person plural	horrorjuk	horrorjaik

References

1. Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *horzōs, remodeled into a rhotic-stem. Equivalent to horreo +‎ -or.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈhor.ror/, [ˈhɔrːɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈor.ror/, [ˈɔrːor]

Noun

horror m (genitive horrōris); third declension

1. bristling (standing on end)
2. shaking, shivering, chill
3. dread, terror, horror

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	horror	horrōrēs
Genitive	horrōris	horrōrum
Dative	horrōrī	horrōribus
Accusative	horrōrem	horrōrēs
Ablative	horrōre	horrōribus
Vocative	horror	horrōrēs

Related terms

• horrendus
• horridus
• horribilis

Descendants

• Catalan: horror
• English: horror
• French: horreur
• Galician: horror
• Italian: orrore
• German: Horror
• Piedmontese: oror
• Portuguese: horror
• Romanian: oroare
• Spanish: horror

References

• “horror”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “horror”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• horror in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

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Old French

Alternative forms

• horrour
• horrur

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horror, horrorem.

Noun

horror f (oblique plural horrors, nominative singular horror, nominative plural horrors)

1. horror or terror

Descendants

• English: horror
• Middle French: horreur
  • French: horreur

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Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English horror, from Latin horror.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɔr.rɔr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrrɔr
• Syllabification: hor‧ror

Noun

horror m inan

1. (colloquial) horror (something horrible; that which excites horror)
2. (film) horror movie

   Synonym: film grozy

3. (literature) horror

Declension

Declension of horror

	singular	plural
nominative	horror	horrory
genitive	horroru	horrorów
dative	horrorowi	horrorom
accusative	horror	horrory
instrumental	horrorem	horrorami
locative	horrorze	horrorach
vocative	horrorze	horrory

Further reading

• horror in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• horror in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin horrōrem.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /oˈʁoʁ/ [oˈhoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /oˈʁoʁ/ [oˈhoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /oˈʁoɾ/ [oˈhoɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /oˈʁoʁ/ [oˈχoχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /oˈʁoɻ/ [oˈhoɻ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɔˈʁoɾ/

• Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -oɾ, (Brazil) -oʁ
• Hyphenation: hor‧ror

Noun

horror m (plural horrores)

1. horror

   Synonyms: temor, terror

Related terms

• horrendo
• hórrido
• horrífero
• horrífico
• horripilar
• horrível
• horrorizar
• horroroso

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Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English horror.

Adjective

horror m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. horror

Declension

Declension of horror (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	horror		horror	horror	horror
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	horror		horror	horror	horror
	definite	—		—	—	—

Noun

horror n (plural horror)

1. horror

Declension

Declension of horror

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) horror	horrorul	(niște) horror	horrorle
genitive/dative	(unui) horror	horrorului	(unor) horror	horrorlor
vocative	horrorule		horrorlor

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horror, horrorem.

Cf. also the popular Old Spanish horrura, inherited from a derivative of the Latin or with a change of suffix, and taking on the meaning of "dirtiness, filth, impurity, scum"; comparable to derivatives of horridus in other Romance languages[1], like Italian ordo, Old French ord, French ordure, Old Catalan hòrreu, horresa, Old Occitan orre, orrezeza, Romanian urdoare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈroɾ/ [oˈroɾ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ho‧rror

Noun

horror m (plural horrores)

1. horror

   Synonyms: miedo, temor, terror

Related terms

• horrible
• hórrido
• horrífico
• horripilante
• horrorizar
• horroroso
• horrendo

References

1. Joan Coromines; José A. Pascual (1983–1991) Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Further reading

• “horror”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014