Terrible — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Terrible (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. causing fear

   "a terrible nightmare that woke me up"

   similar: alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, shocking, spine-chilling, terrifying
   related: daunting, demoralizing, disconcerting, discouraging, dismaying, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, startling, threatening, troubling, trying, unnerving, bone-chilling, creepy, eerie, weird, appalling, atrocious, awful, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarish
   near: calming, comforting, consoling, inviting, lulling, pacifying, quieting, reassuring, relaxing, soothing, tranquilizing, nonintimidating, nonthreatening

2. extreme in degree, power, or effect

   "I have a terrible headache"

   similar: acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intense, intensive, keen, profound, vehement, vicious, violent
   related: accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened, emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified, stressed, exhaustive, thorough, harsh, rigorous, severe
   opposite: light, moderate, soft
   near: feeble, weak, shallow, superficial, moderated, qualified, alleviated, eased, lightened, toned (down), abated, decreased, diminished, lessened, reduced, subdued

3. extremely disturbing or repellent

   "that is a terrible movie to let your six-year-old watch"

   similar: appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, monstrous, nightmare, nightmarish, shocking, terrific
   related: alarming, bloodcurdling, dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, gut-wrenching, hair-raising, heart-stopping, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, terrifying, abhorrent, deplorable, disagreeable, disgusting, distasteful, loathsome, nauseating, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, offensive, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, sickening, abominable, evil, foul, heinous, noxious, odious, unspeakable, vile, grotesque, ugly, unsightly
   near: agreeable, appealing, attractive, delectable, delicious, delightful, enjoyable, enticing, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome, cheering, comforting, soothing

4. extremely unsatisfactory

   "this nonfat ice cream is terrible"

   similar: abysmal, atrocious, awful, dismal, execrable, horrible, lousy, punk, rotten, sucky (slang), wretched
   related: bad, deficient, inferior, off, poor, substandard, wanting, contemptible, miserable, shameful, defective, faulty, flawed, low-grade, mediocre, reprehensible, second-rate, bum, useless, valueless, worthless, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, abominable, damnable, fiendish, odious, vile
   opposite: bitchin' (slang), great, marvelous, wonderful
   near: choice, excellent, exceptional, first-class, first-rate, premium, prime, superior, adequate, sufficient, acceptable, satisfactory

5. of low quality

   "manufactures terrible clothes that often tear after a single wash"

   similar: bad, bargain-basement, bum, cheap, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy (slang), cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, poor, rotten, rubbishy, schlock, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy, trumpery, wretched
   related: useless, valueless, worthless, indifferent, lackluster, second-class, brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank, tawdry, seedy, shabby, tacky, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham, supercheap, ultracheap
   opposite: excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, good, high-grade, superior, top-notch
   near: elegant, handsome, tasteful, handcrafted, polished, refined