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Terrible

Definition: Terrible

Terrible

Adjective

1. Causing fear or dread or terror; "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse".

2. Exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room".

3. Intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality; "severe pain"; "a severe case of flu"; "a terrible cough"; "under wicked fire from the enemy's guns"; "a wicked cough".

4. Extremely distressing; "fearful slum conditions"; "a frightful mistake"; "suffered terrible thirst".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "terrible" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: Terrible \Ter"ri*ble\, adjective. [French expression, from the Latin expression terribilis, from terrere to frighten. See Terror.]. (references)

 

Synonyms: Terrible

Synonyms: abominable (adj), atrocious (adj), awful (adj), dire (adj), direful (adj), dread(a) (adj), dreaded (adj), dreadful (adj), fearful (adj), fearsome (adj), frightening (adj), frightful (adj), horrendous (adj), horrific (adj), painful (adj), severe (adj), unspeakable (adj), wicked (adj). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Terrible

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Artlessness

Rough diamond, matter of fact man; le palais de verite; enfant terrible.

Fear

Inspiring fear; Verb: alarming; formidable, redoubtable; perilous; (danger); portentous; fearful; dread, dreadful; fell; dire, direful; shocking; terrible, terrific; tremendous; horrid, horrible, horrific; ghastly; awful, awe-inspiring; revolting; (painful); Gorgonian.

Bug bear, bugaboo; scarecrow; hobgoblin; (demon); nightmare, Gorgon, mormo, ogre, Hurlothrumbo, raw head and bloody bones, fee-faw-fum, bete noire, enfant terrible.

Satiety

Noun: satiety, satisfaction, saturation, repletion, glut, surfeit; cloyment, satiation; weariness. spoiled child; enfant gete, enfant terrible; too much of a good thing, toujours perdrix;Noun: satiety, satisfaction, saturation, repletion, glut, surfeit; cloyment, satiation; weariness. spoiled child; enfant gete, enfant terrible; too much of a good thing, toujours perdrix; crambe repetita.

Warfare

Phrase: the battle rages; a la guerre comme a la guerre; bis peccare in bello non licet; jus gladii; "my voice is still for war"; "'tis well that war is so terrible, otherwise we might grow fond of it"; "my sentence is for open war"; "pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war"; "the cannons have their bowels full of wrath"; "the cannons..spit forth their iron indignation"; "the fire-eyed maid of smoky war"; silent leges inter arma; si vis pacem para bellum.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Terrible

English words defined with "terrible": abominably, abysmally, atrociously, awful, awfullyBegin, Bloodybones, brood, bulk largechilling, come after, compose, confront, cut, cuttingdeath, decease, dire, direful, dispense, disuse, dither, dread, dreaded, dreadfulEdict of Nantes, endface, face up, fearful, fearsome, fix, flap, follow, frightening, frightful, fussgleam, go across, go through, grasp, griphole, horrendous, horrific, Horrisonous, hoverjamkettle of fishlet loose, loom, loosemeet, mental, mess, muddleneglect, nuisancepain, pain in the neck, pass, pickle, possess, pother, Pyrrhic victoryrottenlyscarey, scary, severe, shivery, shuddery, sufferterribly, Thunderstrike, tizzy, To do reverenceunleashwake, wicked, Wilderness Campaign. (references)
Specialty definitions using "terrible": AfrietDragon SlayersFear Fortress, Fighting FifthHagan of Trony, HERCULESInfernal Column, I'vanJean des Vigneslion food, LOVERMacreons, Mahatmas, Mount of the Amoritesno, Norpencil and paperSkibbereen EagleZola-ise. (references)
Etymologies containing "terrible": Dinosauria. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Terrible" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

French (abysmal, awful, boss, dire, dread, dreadful, formidable, gruesome, hectic, horrible, mean, outrageous, smashing, super-duper, terrible, tremendous, wow), Spanish (awful, devastating, dire, dirty, dread, dreadful, eerie, evil, fearful, ghastly, gruesome, hellish, hideous, horrible, horrid, jolly, lousy, lurid, outrageous, splitting, terrible, terror, unholy, wicked).

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Modern Usage: Terrible

DomainUsage

Screenplays

I feel terrible, but I have to cancel our date tonight (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin.)

The truth is, you just cost the insurance company $2,700. You're a terrible risk (Driving Miss Daisy; writing credit: Alfred Uhry)

What is the price of one piano compared to the terrible crime that's been committed here (The Pink Panther Strikes Again; writing credit: Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman.)

I know its a terrible word (Say Anything; writing credit: Cameron Crowe.)

Because consciousness is a terrible curse (Being John Malkovich; writing credit: Charlie Kaufman)

Movie/TV Titles

Terrible Jim Fitch (1971)

Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)

El Terrible de Chicago (1967)

The Adventures of the Terrible Ten (1960)

A Terrible Beauty (1960)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Terrible

DomainTitle

Books

  

Theater & Movies

  • Alexander & The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day (reference)

  • Biography - Ivan the Terrible (reference)

  • Mr. Bean - The Terrible Tales of Mr. Bean (reference)

  • Eisenstein - The Sound Years (Ivan the Terrible Parts 1 & 2, Alexander Nevsky) - Criterion Collection (reference)

    (more DVD examples; more video examples)

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Photo Album: Terrible

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

University of Hawaii research vessel TERITU at Gardner Pinnacles. Known as the "Terrible Two" because of rolling ability. Credit: Small World.

Prevenga esta terrible enfermedad El SIDA. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Total destruction of the Democratic platform / terrible shipwreck and loss of life in Salt River. Credit: Library of Congress.

Terrible rout & total destruction of the Whig Party. In Salt River. Credit: Library of Congress.

Suicide! he repeated, this is terrible. Credit: Library of Congress.

Actually, it was no more than a moment or two before the prisoner found reply, but it was long enough for his tortured eye to flash inward and backward with terrible focus. Credit: Library of Congress.

Who can open the doors of this face? : his teeth are terrible round about -- Job 41:14. Credit: Library of Congress.

Lan' sakes! Those terrible Turks have been given the wailing wall of Palestine : what on earth would I do without mine!. Credit: Library of Congress.

Catholic Cathedral in ruins--scene of a terrible massacre, Peking, China. Credit: Library of Congress.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, author of Ivan the Terrible & Ivan the Fool. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Terrible
 

"Arial's Many Moods 3" by Erika Thorpe
Commentary: "Arial engaged in a disturbing phone call....it turns out there has been a terrible mistake, she is not the winner of the Publisher's Clearing House grand prize sweepstakes."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Sounds Captioned with "Terrible".

PlayCaption
Reaction of distaste; dislike; a person making a terrible vocal sound.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Terrible

AuthorQuotation

Francis Bacon

Nothing is terrible except fear itself.

Henry Fielding

It hath often been said that it is not death but dying that is terrible.

Henry James

The terrible fluidity of self-revelation.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Their is nothing so terrible as activity without insight.

Michel Eyquem De Montaigne

Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.

Nathaniel Lee

The pomp of death is far more terrible than death itself.

Oscar Wilde

The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.

P. T. Barnum

Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.

Virgil

Each person, makes their own terrible passion their God.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Terrible

TitleAuthorQuote

Sylvie and Bruno

Carroll, Lewis

I was glad to see he had quite recovered from the terrible scene he had gone through

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Douglas Adams

She tried to worry that something terrible had happened to him, but didn't believe it for a moment

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Oftenest persuasive, but sometimes terrible! The people knew not the power that moved them thus

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

We live in times of terrible confusion

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hunter S. Thompson

' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

Such is the terrible punishment decreed for those who die in mortal sin by an almighty and a just God.

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

And 66 goes on over the terrible desert, where the distance shimmers and the black center mountains hang unbearably in the distance

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

To clear up which I endeavored to give some ideas of the desire of power and riches, of the terrible effects of lust, intemperance, malice and envy

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Besides, there was a still more terrible standing invitation to call at every one of these houses, and company expected about these times

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Terrible

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

You're coughing and sneezing and tired and achy. You think that you might be getting a cold. Later, when the medicines you've been taking to relieve the symptoms of the common cold are not working and you've now got a terrible headache, you finally drag yourself to the doctor. (references)

These multifaceted collaborative initiatives, which combine an accelerated search for causes, an assault on the effects of the disease, and vigorous efforts to prevent onset, will energize the fight against AD and bring us closer to the day when we will be able to prevent or even cure this terrible disease, which robs our older relatives and friends of their most precious faculty – their minds. (references)

Children

Liberia

Nearly all youths witnessed terrible atrocities, and some committed atrocities themselves. (references)

Human Rights

Colombia

In late November, the director of the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country, Anders Kompass, described the country's overcrowded prisons to a news conference as terrible. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Spoken Usage: Terrible

SpeakerPhrase(s)

Art Linkletter

Or terrible stories of things that are happening to them, and they're just wallowing in this. And there's more than one that does that.

Dick Van Dyke

We used to break up laughing. We had a terrible time the first year, looking at each other on set and starting to laugh. And a psychologist told me that's a sign of an attraction.

Howard Lutnick

Well, as I saw the building I could see the smoke engulfing the top of the building and it was clear that things were going to be, things were going to be terrible.

Julia Child

I think a lot of us get into a terrible meat rut. It's always steaks, chops, saddle of lamb, beef Wellington or hamburgers.

Maureen O'Hara

That was a terrible moment, because it had to be seconded to be accepted. And if it wasn't seconded, it would have gone by the wayside and I never would have got it.

Rudolph Giuliani

You got it. It's a police officer has been shot, fire fighter has been burned, some terrible tragedy has occurred, a plane has crashed.

Rudy Giuliani

Terrible mistake. Until you know that you're going to succeed and the level at which you're going to succeed, don't promise mass success.

Rush Limbaugh

McDonald's shut the protest down by agreeing with the protesters and putting donation boxes, posters, and tray liners which will inform customers of the terrible conditions in Africa.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Speeches: Terrible

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

Andrew Jackson

1829-1837By persuasion and force they have been made to retire from river to river and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes have become extinct and others have left but remnants to preserve for a while their once terrible names.

Gerald Ford

1974-1977The American people have heard too much about how terrible our mistakes, how evil our deeds, and how misguided our purposes.

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow.

George W. Bush

2001-2005A future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Terrible

"Terrible" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 98.87% of the time. "Terrible" is used about 4,672 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)98.87%4,6192,119
Noun (proper)1.11%5247,145
Unclassified Items0.02%1339,140
                    Total100.00%4,672N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Name Usage Frequency: Terrible

The following table summarizes the usage of "terrible" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons
Rank in USA
TerribleLast name10077,237
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Terrible

Expressions using "terrible": enfant terrible Ivan the Terrible most terrible terrible scene terrible state of affairs what a terrible weather!. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "terrible": terrible-looking, terrible-tempered.

Ending with "terrible": a-terrible, comic-terrible, not-too-terrible.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Terrible

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

ivan the terrible

204

gregory the terrible eater

5

terrible two

90

eric morales terrible

5

terrible herbst

49

biography ivan the terrible

4

terrible one

35

ivan russia terrible

4

terrible

29

terrible towel

4

tate terrible terry

23

ivan iv the terrible

4

secret space terrible

19

terrible herbst casino

4

alexander and the terrible horrible no good very bad day

13

jason terrible

4

terrible one bike

12

picture terrible

3

inch lie lyrics nail nine terrible

10

alexander bad day good no terrible very

3

terrible one bmx

9

terrible credit auto loan

3

g mr terrible

9

eisenstein ivan terrible

3

waste is a terrible thing to mind

9

terrible three

3

hotel terrible

8

alexander and the terrible

3

lie lyrics terrible

7

ain hired it t terrible when writer

3

el ivan terrible

7

alexander bad day good horrible lesson no plan terrible very

3

ivan picture terrible

7

impostura la terrible

3

apartment credit renting terrible

7

mutual scottish terrible

3

terrible credit loan

6

terrible terry

3

dark balter the terrible

6

la sera terrible venganza

3

terrible casino

5

terrible 1

3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Terrible

Language Translations for "terrible"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaans

  

afskuwelik (abhorrent, abominable, abysmal, alien, awful, dreadful, gruesome, hideous, horrible). (various references)

   

Albanian

  

i tmerrshëm (appalling, awesome, awful, Creese, damnable, darn, deadly, deuced, dire, direful, eldritch, enormous, frightful, gruesome, hideous, horrible, horrid, infernal, macabre, parlous, perishing, redoubtable, redoubted, sad, scary, terrific, towering, tragic, tremendous), i padurueshëm (impossible, insufferable, insupportable, obnoxious, revolting, unbearable, unendurable), i lemerishëm (dreadful, grisly, horrible, horrid), i jashtëzakonshëm (egregious, emergency, exceeding, exceptional, exceptive, exclusive, extraordinary, heroic, inconceivable, incredible, marvellous, marvelous, phenomenal, powerful, prodigious, sole, stupendous, thumping, transcendent, transcendental, uncommon, unthinkable, unusual, wonderful). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏فظيع (abominable, atrocious, detestable, flagrant, gross, hideous, horrible, horrid, monstrous, outrageous, shocking, ugly), ‏مفزع (appallingly, awful, dread, dreadful, frightening, frightful, horrible, sanctuary, startling), ‏مزعج (aggravating, annoying, bore, bothering, bothersome, disagreeable, disquieting, disturber, disturbing, galling, grating, harsh, horrid, importunate, importune, intruder, irksome, irritating, mean, mischievous, offensive, pain in the neck, pestilential, plaguy, provoking, tiresome, troubled, troublesome, ugly, uncomfortable, unpleasant, upsetting, vexatious, vexing, wicked, worrisome), ‏مريع, ‏مرعب (alarming, appalling, awesome, dreadful, frightening, frightful, hair raising, horrible, horrific, horrifying, terrific, terrifying), ‏عسير (complicated, difficult, hard, intractable, knotty, malaise, precipitous, severe, strait, strenuous, stubborn, troublesome, uphill), ‏صاعق (astounding, staggering, stony), ‏رهيب (bloodcurdling, bloody, chilly, dire, dreadful, fearful, fierce, grisly, gruesome, hairy, holy, horrible, horrific, lurid, macabre, monstrous, morbid, nightmarish, redoubtable, smashing, super, wretched), ‏شاق (arduous, hard, laborious, malaise, onerous, painful, robust, stiff, strenuous, toilsome, troublesome, trying, uphill), ‏شديد (acute, biting, boisterous, brusque, cordial, crass, dense, excruciating, extreme, forte, intense, intensive, keen, lusty, rigorous, shrill, stern, strong, telling, tempestuous, vehement, vicious, violent). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

страшен (alarming, almighty, apocalyptic, awesome, awful, dire, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightful, grisly, gruesome, hair raising, horrible, redoubtable, scary, terrific, tremendous, wicked), ужасен (aghast, appalling, awful, bloodcurdling, deadly, desperate, deuced, devastating, dire, direful, dreadful, eldritch, execrable, fearful, fearsome, frantic, frightful, furious, ghastly, great, grievous, grisly, gruesome, horrible, horrid, horror-stricken, lurid, macabre, miserable, morbid, murderous, planet-stricken, planet-struck, precious, sad, septic, terrific, towering, tremendous, unholy, unmentionable, vicious, wretched), краен (completive, distal, dizzy, end, endmost, eventual, extreme, final, high, intense, intolerant, latter, marginal, out-, outside, profuse, rabid, red-hot, sublime, supreme, terminal, terminative, ultimate, unmerciful, utmost, utter, uttermost, veriest, wild-eyed), огромен (enormous, formidable, gargantuan, giantlike, herculean, howling, huge, mammoth, mighty, monumental, mountainous, oceanic, oversize, planetary, portentous, prodigious, slashing, super, terrific, thumping, thundering, tremendous, unwieldy, vast, walloping, whacking, whaling, whopping), невъзможен (bloody minded, impossible, infamous, miserable, monstrous, perishing, pestilent, unchristian, unfeasible, unthinkable, villainous, wretched), много слаб (sad, skinny), много лош (awful, sad), потресаващ (horrific, lurid, staggering, startling). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

可怕 (awful, dreadful, fearful, formidable, frightful, hideous, horrible, terribly). (various references)

   

Czech

  

strašný (awful, chronic, dire, distressing, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, hairy, hellish, hideous, hopeless, horrible, horrific, tremendous). (various references)

   

Danish

  

skrækkelig (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible), rædsom (abysmal, alarmed, dismayed, dreadful, dumbfounded, gruesome, horrible, put out of countenance), forfærdelig (abysmal, alarmed, dismayed, dreadful, dumbfounded, gruesome, horrible, put out of countenance). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

schrikaanjagend (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

terura (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible). (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

ræðuligur (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

هولناک (Ghastly, Terrific), وحشتناک (Bloodcurdling, Dreadful, Grisly), وحشت اور (Awesome, Gruesome, Morbid), ترسناک (Dire, Ghastly, Grim, Hideous, Horrid, Lurid, Macabre, Nightmarish, Redoubtable, Terrific, Tremendous, Ugsome), سهمناک (Horrid, Redoubtable), بسیاربد (Desperate, Detestable, Devilish). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

kauhea (awful, dreadful, frightful, horrible), hirveä (awful, dreadful, heinous), hirmuinen (dreadful, frightful, horrible). (various references)

   

French

  

terrible. (various references)

   

German

  

schrecklich (abominably, abysmal, appalling, awful, awfully, dire, direly, dreadful, dreadfully, fearful, fearfully, formidable, frantic, frightful, frightfully, grim, gruesome, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horridly, horrific, horrifying, indescribable, indescribably, lurid, luridly, monstrously, painfully, shockingly, terribly, terrificly, terrifying, tremendous, tremenduously), furchtbar (abysmal, awful, awfully, dreadful, fearful, fearfully, formidable, frightful, frightfully, gruesome, horrendous, horrible, parlous, redoubtable, shocking, shockingly, terribly, tremendous), entsetzlich (abysmal, abysmally, appalling, awful, bloodcurdling, dire, dreadful, excruciating, frightful, gruesome, harrowing, hideous, horrendous, horrendously, horrible, horribly, horrid, horridly, horrific, horrifying, outrageous, racking, shocking, shockingly, sickening, unspeakable). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

φοβερός (abysmal, chilling, fearsome, frightful), τρομερόσ (awful, dire, direful, formidable, frightful, grisly, redoubtable), τρομερός (dire, frightful). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מאוים (frightened), איום (awful, dire, dreadful, fearful, fell, frightful, grim, hideous, intimidation, menace, terrific, threat), דחיל, נורא (bloody, damned, dire, dread, fearful, frightful, hellish, shocking, terrific, unholy). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

szörnyû (abysmal, awful, deadly, dire, dismal, dreadful, grisly, gruesome, horrible, monstrous, terrific, tremendous), borzasztó (astounding, awful, dreadful, fearsome, god-awful, gruesome, horrendous, horrible, terrific, tremendous). (various references)

   

Icelandic

  

hryllilegur (abhorrent, abominable, abysmal, alarmed, alien, awful, dismayed, dreadful, dumbfounded, gruesome, hideous, horrible, put out of countenance), hræðilegur (abysmal, dismal, dreadful, dreary, ghastly, gruesome, hideous, horrible, nasty). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

buruk sekali (abominable), angker (eerie, ghostlike). (various references)

   

Italian

  

terribile (abysmal, appaling, appalling, awful, dire, direful, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, gruesome, horrible, splitting, terrific, tremendous), tremendo (appalling, awful, dreadful, formidably, frightful). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

甚だしい (excessive, extreme, heavy damage, intense, serious, severe, tremendous). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

たいへん (awful, dreadful, opposite side, very), すさまじい (absurd, amazing, awful, dreadful, fierce, terrific, tremendous), すごい (amazing, dreadful, great, terrific, to a great extent, wonderful), おそろしい (dreadful), ひどい (awful, cruel, heavy, serious, severe, very bad, violent), さんざん (harshly, severely, utterly), どえらい (awful, great, hell of a lot, immense, very serious), せんりつ (hair-raising, horrible, melody, shiver, shudder, tremble with fear), はなはだしい (excessive, extreme, heavy, intense, serious, severe, tremendous), とんだ (absolutely not, awful, preposterous, serious), えらい (awful, celebrated, eminent, excellent, famous, great, remarkable). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

참담한. (various references)

   

Manx

  

atchimagh (awesome, awful, shocking, tremendous). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

skrekkelig (abysmal, dreadful, frightful, gruesome, hideous, horrible), forferdelig (abysmal, alarmed, dismayed, dreadful, dumbfounded, gruesome, horrible, horrifying, put out of countenance). (various references)

   

Papiamen

  

teribel (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible), horibel (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible), feroso (abysmal, dismal, dreadful, dreary, ghastly, gruesome, hideous, horrible, nasty), feros (abysmal, dismal, dreadful, dreary, ghastly, gruesome, hideous, horrible, nasty), abominabel (abhorrent, abject, abominable, abysmal, alien, awful, disdainful, disgusting, dismal, dreadful, dreary, ghastly, gruesome, hideous, horrible, nasty, nauseous). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

erribletay.(various references)

   

Polish

  

straszny (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible), okropny (abysmal, dreadful, gruesome, horrible). (various references)

   

Portuguese

  

terrível (abysmal, awesome, awful, deadly, desperate, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, eldritch, fearful, fearsome, fell, frightful, gruesome, horrible, lurid, parlous, redoubtable, redoubted, terrific, tragic, tremendous, ungodly), horrível (abysmal, awful, direful, dismal, dread, dreadful, dreary, ghastly, gruesome, horrible, nasty, unholy). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

teribil (awful, awfully, damnably, direful, dreadful, exceedingly, excruciating, extraordinary, fearsome, formidable, frightful, ghastly, like old boot, terribly, terrific, tremendous), groaznic (appalling, awful, awfully, baleful, desperate, dire, dreadful, foul, frightful, ghastly, grim, groovy, gruesome, horrendous, horrent, horrible, horribly, horrid, howling, lousy, miserable, miserably, monstrous, sad, scary, shocking, terribly, vile), îngrozitor (abominable, appalling, awful, awfully, beastly, desperate, direful, dreadful, grisly, hideous, horrible, shocking, terribly, terrific, tremendous), înspãimântãtor (appalling, awsome, dread, dreadful, fearful, formidable, frightful, frightfully, ghastly, ghostlike, horrible, horrid, howling, terrific, tremendous, unearthly), amarnic (bitterly, dreadful, grievous, hard), blestemat (accursed, confounded, cursed, damnable, damned, darn, devilish, diabolic, diabolical, evil-minded, rascally, shabby, villainous, wicked), colosal (astronomic, astronomical, capitally, colossal, colossally, enormous, enormously, gigantic, grand, huge, jumbo, monster, monstrous, mountain, ocean-wide, smashing, some, strapping, thundering, vast), crâncen (awful, dreadful, ferocious, fiery, terrific), crunt (awful, bloodthirsty, bloody, brutal, cruel, dreadful, horrible, sharp, violent), cumplit (atrocious, cruel, dreadful, eerie, fell, ferocious, fierce, grievous, horrendous, mad, monstrous, outrageous, severe, utter, uttermost), cutremurãtor (awful, touching), enorm (astonishing, awful, colossal, enormous, frightful, huge, hugely, hugeous, immense, immensely, infinite, massive, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, prodigious, thundering, tremendous, vast, whopping), înfiorãtor (awful, awfully, creepy, dread, dreadful, dreadfully, foully, gruesome), formidabil (crack, formidable, tremendous, well), zguduitor (awful, shaking, staggering, thrilling, tremendous), grozav (a, almighty, atrocious, awful, awfully, bally, beastly, bully, classy, clinking, Dandy, desperate, dreadful, exceedingly, excessively, famous, fell, first rate, formidable, frightful, gee, ghastly, grand, horrible, horrid, immense, immensely, jolly, killing, like blazes, like hell, lovely, mad, magnificent, mightily, nicely, nifty, plush, plushy, proper, ripping, some, stunning, swell, terribly, terrific, thundering, topping, tremendous, tremendously, uncommonly, vastly, whacking), nãprasnic (amazing, awful, impetuous, sudden, suddenly, tremendous, unexpected, violent), nãstruşnic (amazing), neîmblânzit (cruel, indomitable, unbroken, wild), proclet (accused, awful, cussed, damned), straşnic (clinking, colossal, considerable, damnably, excellent, excessive, extreme, fine, gee, goody, grand, horrible, jolly, magnificent, mightily, nifty, proper, properly, rigorous, severe, severely, smashing, solid, some, sound, stern, swell, terribly, thundering, tremendous, with a vengeance), ucigãtor (baneful, cut throat, dreadful, homicidal, killing, murderous, murderously, pestilent), vajnic (fearful, fiery, frightful, vigorous), vrãjmaş (enemy, foe, inhospitable), zdravãn (awfully, healthy, mighty, sane, sinewy, sound, soundly, sturdy, vigorous, whole), extraordinar (amazing, arch, astonishing, egregious, enormous, exceedingly, extra, extraordinary, extremely, fierce, marvellous, noble, out, phenomenal, phenomenally, prodigious, proud, rare, rattling, remarkable, special, striking, tremendous, uncommon, undreamed of, unimaginable, up to the nines, well, well I never, wonderful). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

страшный (blood-curding, dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, grisly, hair raising, hair-raising, hairy, hideous, horrible, parlous, spooky, tremendous). (various references)

   

Scottish

  

uamharr (atrocious, dreadful). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

užasan (appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, horrible, shocking), strahovit (dreadful, fearsome, frightful, horrible, scary, terrific), strašan (almighty, awful, dire, direful, dreadful, fearsome, formidable, frightful, horrible, horrid, howling, redoubtable, redoubted, terrific), grozan (atrocious, awful, creepy, dire, direful, ghastly, grisly, horrendous, lurid, macabre, plaguy). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

terrible (awful, devastating, dire, dirty, dread, dreadful, eerie, evil, fearful, ghastly, gruesome, hellish, hideous, horrible, horrid, jolly, lousy, lurid, outrageous, splitting, terror, unholy, wicked). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

hemsk (abysmal, agonizing, alarmed, atrocious, awful, bloodcurdling, creepy, dire, dismal, dismayed, dreadful, dreary, dumbfounded, eerie, eery, fell, frantic, frightful, ghastly, ghoulish, grisly, gruesome, hair raising, harrowing, hideous, horrible, horrid, horrific, lurid, put out of countenance, terrific, uncanny, weird, wicked), förfärlig (abominable, abysmal, alarmed, awful, dismayed, dreadful, dumbfounded, frightful, gruesome, horrible, perishing, put out of countenance), ryskig, fruktansvärd (awful, fearful, formidable, heinous, horrible, redoubtable, tearing, terrific), fasansfull (atrocious, horrible, terrifying). (various references)

   

Thai

  

คนที่มีพฤติกรรม, ทัศนคติหรือคำพูดที่ทำให้คนอื่นตกใจ (enfant terrible). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

müthiş (almighty, appalling, awful, bang up, beastly, colossal, deadly, devastating, devilish, dire, direful, fabulous, fearful, filthy, formidable, frightful, gee-whiz, helluva, prodigious, ripping, smashing, splendid, splendiferous, stunning, stupendous, superb, swell, tearing, terrific, thundering, unco, wild), korkunç (appalling, awesome, awful, cruel, desperate, dire, direful, disastrous, disgusting, dreadfull, eldritch, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, ghoulish, gory, grim, grisly, gruesome, haircurling, hair-raiser, hellish, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, lurid, monstrous, redoubtable, scary, shocking, sickening, terrific, terrifying), berbat (abominable, abysmal, accursed, accurst, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, badly, beastly, bum, chronic, crappy, dashed, destroyed, deuced, devilish, disgusting, dread, dreadfull, egregious, execrable, fierce, flagitious, frightful, ghastly, grotty, hell, hell of, helluva, horrible, horrid, indifferent, infamous, infernal, ropy, rotten, screwed, shocking, sickening, spoilt, sticky, stinking, ungodly, unsavory, unsavoury, vicious, vile, villainous, violent, wretched), çok kötü (arrant, atrocious, awful, chronic, rotten, thumbs down, violent). (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

elhenз (dreadful, frightful). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

страшно (frightfully, horribly), страшний (awful, blood-curdling, dread, frantic, frightful, ghastly, grisly, hair raising, horrible, horrid), страшенно (almighty, aloud, as anything, awfully, bloody, deadly, devilish, disgustingly, fearfully, frightfully, horribly, precious), страшенний (abysmal, almighty, arch-, blue, deuced, hideous, howling, infernal, precious, rabid, raging, right-down). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

thậm tệ, ghê gớm (burning, desperate, fearful, formidable, gruesome, mortally, obscene, plaguy, precious, preciously, thundering, tremendous, woefully), dễ sợ (dread, dreadful, gaunt). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

uthr (wonderful), ofnadwy (awful, dreadful), en.giriol (cruel, nefarious), dychrynllyd (frightful), brawychus (frightful), aruthr (cruel, marvelous, strange, very, wonderful), arswydus (awful, dreadful, fearful, horrible), anaelau (extremely, fatal, pain, sadness), an.guriol (cruel, dire, fearful, painful). (various references)

   

Yucatec

  

hach k'as (abysmal, dangerous, dreadful, gruesome, horrible). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Terrible

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Greek700 BCE-300 CE

deinos. (various references)

Latin500 BCE-Modern

atrox, formidolosa, formidolosis, formidolosus, horrendas, horrende, horrendi, horrendos, horrendum, horrendus, horribile, horribiles, horribili, horribilia, horribilis, horribilium, terribile, terribilem, terribili, terribilia, terribilibus, terribilis, terribiliter, terribilium, tremendus. (various references)

Old English450-1100

atol. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Terrible

LanguageDateSourceLamentations Chapter 5, Verse 10
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintTo derma hmwn wV klibanoV epeleiwqh sunespasqhsan apo proswpou kataigidwn limou
Latin405VulgatePellis nostra quasi clibanus exusta est a facie tempestatum famis
Jacobean English1611King JamesOur skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
Victorian English1833WebsterOur skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
Basic English1964OgdenOur skin is heated like an oven because of our burning heat from need of food.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Terrible

LanguageLamentations Chapter 5, Verse 10
CebuanoAng among panit maitum sama sa usa ka hudno, Tungod sa makasunog nga kainit sa kagutmanan.
Chinese因 飢 餓 燥 熱 、 我 們 的 皮 膚 就 黑 如 爐 。
CroatianKoža nam gori kao peæ užarena, ognjicom od plamena gladi.
DanishVor Hud er sværtet som en Ovn af Hungerens svidende Lue.
DutchOnze huid is zwart geworden gelijk een oven, vanwege den geweldigen storm des hongers.
FinnishMeidän ihomme halkeilee kuin uuni nälän poltteiden takia.
FrenchNotre peau est brûlante comme un four, Par l`ardeur de la faim.
GermanUnsre Haut ist verbrannt wie in einem Ofen vor dem greulichen Hunger.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariKami menderita kelaparan, sehingga kulit kami membara seperti perapian.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaKulit tubuh kami sudah jadi hitam seperti dapur dari karena kesangatan lapar.
ItalianLa nostra pelle si è fatta bruciante come un forno a causa degli ardori della fame.
MaoriMangu ana o matou kiri ano he oumu, i te wera ngau kino o te hemokai.
NorwegianVår hud brenner som en ovn av hungerens luer.
PortugueseNossa pele está abraseada como um forno, por causa do ardor da fome.   
RumanianNe arde pielea ca un cuptor, de frigurile foamei.
RussianлПЦБ ОБЫБ РПЮЕТОЕМБ, ЛБЛ РЕЮШ, ПФ ЦЗХЮЕЗП ЗПМПДБ.
SpanishNuestra piel se ha ennegrecido como un horno, a causa de los ardores del hambre.
SwedishVår hud är glödande såsom en ugn, för brännande hungers skull.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Terrible

Derivations

Words beginning with "terrible": terribleness, terriblenesses. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Terrible" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Erribol, iterable, Kerible, Merribell, teribl, terribley, tertile, titrable, turbile. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Terrible"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "terrible" (pronounced te"rubul)
6-e" r u b u larable, bearable, parable, repairable, unbearable, wearable.
5-r u b u lincurable, adorable, curable, demonstrable, deplorable, desirable, durable, execrable, horrible, impenetrable, nondurable, undesirable, uninsurable.
4-u b u lindefatigable, indefensible, indefinable, indelible, indescribable, indestructible, indispensable, indisputable, indistinguishable, indivisible, indomitable, inedible, ineffable, ineligible, inequitable, inescapable, inevitable, inexcusable, inexhaustible, inexorable, inexplicable, infallible, infeasible, inflammable, inflatable, acceptable, accessible, abominable, accountable, achievable, actionable, adaptable, addressable, adjustable, admirable, admissible, adoptable, advisable, affable, affordable, agreeable, allowable, amenable, amendable, amiable, amicable, analyzable, answerable, appealable, applicable, appreciable, approachable, approvable, arguable, attainable, attributable, audible, available, avoidable, bankable, believable, billable, biodegradable, breakable, buildable, burnable, callable, cannibal, capable, changeable, chargeable, charitable, classifiable, collapsible, collectible, Combinable, comfortable, commendable, communicable, comparable, compatible, compensable, comprehensible, conceivable, confirmable, considerable, constable, consumable, contemptible, contestable, controllable, convertible, copyrightable, countable, credible, creditable, crucible, culpable, debatable, deductible, defensible, definable, degradable, delectable, deliverable, dependable, deployable, depreciable, describable, despicable, detachable, detectable, determinable, developable, digestible, disagreeable, discernible, discountable, discoverable, dishonorable, dispensable, disposable, disreputable, distinguishable, divisible, doable, drinkable, drivable, eatable, edible, electable, eligible, Embraceable, employable, enforceable, enjoyable, enviable, equable, equitable, erasable, erodible, estimable, exchangeable, excitable, excludable, excusable, exercisable, expandable, expendable, explainable, exportable, extendable, extendible, fallible, fashionable, fathomable, favorable, feasible, fissionable, fixable, flammable, flexible, forcible, foreseeable, forfeitable, forgettable, forgivable, formidable, fungible, fusible, gullible, habitable, harvestable, heritable, hon, honorable, hospitable, identifiable, illegible, imaginable, imitable, immiscible, immovable, immutable, impassable, impeachable, impeccable, imperceptible, impermissible, implacable, implantable, implausible, imponderable, impossible, impracticable, impregnable, impressionable, improbable, inaccessible, inadmissible, inadvisable, inalienable, inapplicable, inaudible, incalculable, incapable, incomparable, incompatible, incomprehensible, incompressible, inconceivable, incontrovertible, incorrigible, incredible, soluble, solvable, spendable, submersible, suggestible, suitable, supportable, survivable, susceptible, sustainable, syllable, talkable, tangible, taxable, teachable, tenable, inflexible, inheritable, inhospitable, inimitable, injectable, innumerable, inoperable, insatiable, inscrutable, inseparable, insoluble, insufferable, insupportable, insurmountable, intangible, intelligible, interchangeable, interminable, interruptible, intolerable, intractable, invaluable, investable, invincible, inviolable, invisible, invulnerable, irascible, irreconcilable, irrefutable, irremediable, irreparable, irreplaceable, irrepressible, irresistible, irresponsible, irreversible, irrevocable, irritable, issuable, justifiable, knowledgeable, lamentable, laudable, laughable, leasable, legible, liable, likable, likeable, livable, lovable, malleable, manageable, mandible, maneuverable, marketable, measurable, memorable, microwavable, miscible, miserable, moldable, movable, navigable, negligible, negotiable, noncallable, nonconvertible, nondeductible, nonrefundable, nonrenewable, nontaxable, nontransferable, notable, noticeable, objectionable, observable, obtainable, operable, ostensible, palatable, palpable, passable, patentable, payable, peaceable, perceptible, perishable, permeable, permissible, personable, persuadable, pitiable, plausible, pleasurable, pliable, portable, possible, potable, practicable, predictable, preferable, presentable, preventable, printable, probable, profitable, programmable, prosecutable, provable, punishable, questionable, quotable, reachable, readable, realizable, reasonable, receivable, rechargeable, recognizable, recordable, recoverable, recyclable, redeemable, redoubtable, reducible, refundable, regrettable, reliable, remarkable, removable, renewable, rentable, repayable, repeatable, replaceable, reportable, reprehensible, reputable, resealable, resettable, respectable, responsible, retractable, returnable, reusable, reversible, revocable, ridable, salable, saleable, salvageable, seasonable, sensible, serviceable, sizable, sizeable, sociable, tolerable, traceable, tractable, tradable, tradeable, trainable, transferable, transferrable, transmittable, transportable, treatable, tunable, typeable, unacceptable, unaccountable, unaffordable, unalienable, unalterable, unanswerable, unassailable, unattainable, unavailable, unavoidable, unbeatable, unbelievable, unbuildable, uncollectible, uncomfortable, unconscionable, uncontrollable, undeniable, understandable, undetectable, unelectable, unemployable, unenforceable, unenviable, unexplainable, unfashionable, unfathomable, unfavorable, unfeasible, unflappable, unforeseeable, unforgettable, unforgivable, ungovernable, unimaginable, unimpeachable, uninhabitable, unintelligible, unjustifiable, unknowable, unlivable, unmanageable, unmentionable, unmistakable, unobtainable, unpalatable, unpredictable, unprintable, unprofitable, unquestionable,