Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Causing horror; dreadful.
  • adjective Extremely disagreeable; offensive.
  • adjective Archaic Bristling; rough.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Rough; rugged; bristling.
  • Fitted to excite horror; dreadful; shocking: as, a horrid spectacle.
  • Very bad or offensive; abominable; execrable.
  • [Horrid and horrible, originally distinct in meaning in their Latin forms, but sometimes used interchangeably by later writers, are now almost entirely synonymous in English; but horrid commonly has a milder or less positive force than horrible.]
  • Synonyms Horrible, frightful, awful, appalling, harrowing, dire, revolting.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Archaic Rough; rugged; bristling.
  • adjective Fitted to excite horror; dreadful; hideous; shocking; hence, very offensive.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective archaic bristling, rough, rugged
  • adjective causing horror or dread
  • adjective offensive, disagreeable, abominable, execrable

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
  • adjective exceedingly bad

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration (influenced by Latin horridus, bristling) of Middle English horred, past participle of horren, to bristle, from Latin horrēre, to tremble, bristle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin horridus ("rough, bristly, savage, shaggy, rude"), from horrere ("to bristle"). See horrent, horror, ordure

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Examples

  • "I mean," said Sibyl, "that you have got to reward me for doing your horrid -- _horrid_, dirty work!"

    Betty Vivian A Story of Haddo Court School L. T. Meade 1884

  • 'I don't care,' she said to herself as she trudged along in silence beside Miss Neale; 'they're horrid to me -- _horrid_.

    The Rectory Children Mrs. Molesworth 1880

  • "How you must have suffered all this cruel time, pent up there in that horrid, _horrid_ place!

    The Missing Merchantman Harry Collingwood 1886

  • Anna, with her obsessive cleanliness, did not like the dog, which she described as a horrid and dirty creature.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Anna, with her obsessive cleanliness, did not like the dog, which she described as a horrid and dirty creature.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Anna, with her obsessive cleanliness, did not like the dog, which she described as a horrid and dirty creature.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Anna, with her obsessive cleanliness, did not like the dog, which she described as a horrid and dirty creature.

    The Pawprints of History STANLEY COREN 2002

  • Espying a sinister pattern behind these events, Grose bemoans what she characterizes as a horrid resurgence of puritanism that has become a common attitude among young females and is somehow perverting even once-sensible feminists such as Ms. Klausner:

    Political Mavens S. T. Karnick 2010

  • Not to be unfairly biased, but for some reason I think older women should have more sense about dressing than a young girl so when I see them in horrid clothing I feel sad and discouraged, because it makes me think that widsom and good judgement don't come with age.

    Modest Feminine Dress From the Pages of 1990 Victoria Magazine 2009

  • Anna -- regarding your "food for thought" comment: viewing a captive living in horrid conditions should make any woman less likely to complain.

    An Enduring Marriage 2009

Comments

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  • Citation on curry.

    June 23, 2008

  • "There was a little girl,

    Who had a little curl,

    Right in the middle of her forehead.

    When she was good,

    She was very good indeed,

    But when she was bad she was horrid."

    February 14, 2009

  • I cannot count the number of times that little rhyme was used to describe me as a child.

    I was, of course, a curly-haired, mercurial little beast.

    February 14, 2009

  • *sniff*

    February 14, 2009

  • But at least you are not made of snails and puppydogs' tails, pleth.

    February 14, 2009