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Webster 1913 Edition


Terrible

Ter′ri-ble

,
Adj.
[F., fr. L.
terribilis
, fr.
terrere
to frighten. See
Terror
.]
1.
Adapted or likely to excite terror, awe, or dread; dreadful; formidable.
Prudent in peace, and
terrible
in war.
Prior.
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and
terrible
.
Deut. vii. 21.
2.
Excessive; extreme; severe.
[Colloq.]
The
terrible
coldness of the season.
Clarendon.
Syn. – Terrific; fearful; frightful; formidable; dreadful; horrible; shocking; awful.
Ter′ri-ble-ness
,
Noun.
Ter′ri-bly
,
adv.

Webster 1828 Edition


Terrible

TER'RIBLE

,
Adj.
[L. terribilis, from terreo, to frighten.]
1.
Frightful; adapted to excite terror; dreadful; formidable.
Prudent in peace, and terrible in war.
The form of the image was terrible. Dan.2.
2.
Adapted to impress dread, terror or solemn awe and reverence.
The Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. Deut.7.
Let them praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy. Ps.99.
He hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. Deut.10.
3.
adv. Severely; very; so as to give pain; as terrible cold; a colloquial phrase.

Definition 2024


terrible

terrible

English

Adjective

terrible (comparative terribler or more terrible, superlative terriblest or most terrible)

  1. Dreadful; causing alarm and fear.
    The witch gave him a terrible curse.
  2. Formidable, powerful.
    • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
      [] and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a "true sea-dog," and "real old salt," and such-like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea.
  3. Intense; extreme in degree or extent.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 18, in The China Governess:
      ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?
    He paid a terrible price for his life of drinking.
  4. Unpleasant; disagreeable.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.
    The food was terrible, but it was free.
  5. Very bad; lousy.
    • 2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club:
      The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.
    Whatever he thinks, he is a terrible driver.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:frightening

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: date · summer · simply · #856: terrible · Tom · author · authority

Catalan

Adjective

terrible m, f (masculine and feminine plural terribles)

  1. terrible (clarification of this Catalan definition is being sought)

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɛ.ʁibl/

Adjective

terrible m, f (plural terribles)

  1. (all senses) terrible
    • 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chapter II:
      Mais à peine se vit-il en chemin qu’une pensée terrible l’assaillit, et telle, que peu s’en fallut qu’elle ne lui fît abandonner l’entreprise commencée.
      But scarcely did he see himself on the road when a terrible thought assaulted him, and such that little was missing to make him abandon the enterprise he had started.
  2. (colloquial) great, excellent

Related terms


Spanish

Adjective

terrible m, f (plural terribles)

  1. terrible (very bad)
  2. terrific (very good)

Related terms