rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryhorridVery unpleasant
adjective

horrid

HOR-id/ˈhɔːrɪd/

Very unpleasant.

The horrid smell from the trash makes her pinch her nose.

An adult woman in a blue shirt recoils from an open kitchen trash can, pinching her nose with her face tightly scrunched in disgust. A rotten fish and slimy food scraps protrude from the bin, with three flies and thick green stink wisps above them. Plain background, bold expressions, and no lettering.
Etymology
horrLatinbristle with fear; shudder
+idLatinadjectival ending

The bristling root was once quite literal: horrid first meant hairy, shaggy, or bristling in English. It later meant causing horror, then weakened to unpleasant or offensive.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain64:05
what horrid clothes you've got on do go and change them
1800s Comedy Audiobook: Oscar Wilde - The Importance of Being Earnest

More examples

  • We had a horrid journey.
  • The food tasted horrid.
  • A horrid noise came from the engine.

Forms

horrid

Similar words

awful
A common broad term for very bad or unpleasant.
repulsive
Specifically suggests causing disgust.