Standard Lemma guide

horribly

adv · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈhɒɹɪbli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈhɔɹəbli/
  • US: /ˈhɑɹəbli/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AO1 R AH0 B L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

In a horrible way; very badly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: manner

Examples

  • The beginning art students displayed their horribly executed paintings with hopeful faces.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

To an extreme degree or extent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: often

Qualifier: degree

Examples

  • Then everything went horribly wrong.
  • The man was horribly nice, yet she still wouldn't marry him.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adv

Meaning 3

With a very bad effect.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: evaluative

Examples

  • Horribly, as he was dying, his eyes reddened.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adverb

Meaning 4

of a dreadful kind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • there was a dreadfully bloody accident on the road this morning

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dreadfully, awfully

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English horribly, horribely, horribliche, horriblelyche, equivalent to horrible + -ly.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: horriblement — in a horrible way
  • Czech: hrozně — in a horrible way
  • Esperanto: horore — in a horrible way
  • Finnish: kammottavasti — in a horrible way
  • French: horriblement — in a horrible way
  • Galician: horribelmente — in a horrible way
  • German: fürchterlich — in a horrible way
  • Ancient Greek: αἰνῶς (ainôs) — in a horrible way
  • Italian: orribilmente — in a horrible way
  • Portuguese: horrivelmente — in a horrible way
  • Russian: ужа́сно (užásno) — in a horrible way
  • Russian: стра́шно (strášno) — in a horrible way
  • Spanish: horriblemente — in a horrible way
  • Turkish: berbatça — in a horrible way
  • Czech: hrozně — extremely
  • Esperanto: terure — extremely
  • Finnish: kauhean — extremely
  • Finnish: kauheasti — extremely
  • French: horriblement — extremely
  • Russian: ужа́сно (užásno) — extremely
  • Russian: стра́шно (strášno) — extremely
  • Walloon: teribmint — extremely
  • Walloon: carapmint — extremely
  • Finnish: kammottavasti — with a bad effect
  • French: horriblement — with a bad effect
  • Russian: ужа́сно (užásno) — with a bad effect
  • Russian: стра́шно (strášno) — with a bad effect