terrible

English Online Dictionary. What means terrible‎? What does terrible mean?

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English terrible, from Old French terrible, from Latin terribilis (“frightful”), from terreō (“I frighten, terrify, alarm; I deter by terror, scare (away)”). Compare terror, deter. By surface analysis, terror +‎ -ible.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛɹəbəl/, /ˈtɛɹɪbəl/
• (US, dialectal, archaic) IPA^(key): /ˈtɝbəl/, /ˈtɛɚbəl/
• Homophone: tearable (with /ə/ and merry-Mary merger)

Adjective

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

1. Dreadful; causing terror, alarm and fear; awesome
2. Formidable, powerful.
3. Intense; extreme in degree or extent.
4. Unpleasant; disagreeable.
5. Very bad; lousy.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frightening

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “very bad”): excellent

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

terrible (comparative more terrible, superlative most terrible)

1. (colloquial, dialect) In a terrible way; to a terrible extent; terribly; awfully.

References

Further reading

• “terrible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “terrible”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• treblier

Catalan

Etymology

(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?) Borrowed from Latin terribilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [təˈrib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [teˈri.ble]

Adjective

terrible m or f (masculine and feminine plural terribles)

1. terrible (causing fear)
2. terrible (formidable, intense)

Further reading

• “terrible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Chavacano

Etymology

(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?) Inherited from Spanish terrible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /teˈrible/, [t̪eˈri.ble]

• IPA^(key): /teˈɾibli/, [t̪eˈɾi.bli] (Ternateño)
• Hyphenation: te‧rri‧ble

Adjective

terrible

1. terrible

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French terrible, inherited from Old French terrible (first attested ca. 1160), borrowed from Latin terribilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛ.ʁibl/ ~ /te.ʁibl/

Adjective

terrible (plural terribles)

1. (all senses) terrible
2. (colloquial) great, excellent

Derived terms

• enfant terrible m

Related terms

• terreur f
• terriblement
• terrifier

Descendants

• → Romanian: teribil

Further reading

• “terrible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin terribilis (first attested ca. 1160).

Pronunciation

Adjective

terrible m (oblique and nominative feminine singular terriblee)

1. terrible

Noun

terrible oblique singular, m or f (oblique plural terribles, nominative singular terribles, nominative plural terrible)

1. terrible

Descendants

• Middle French: terrible
  • French: terrible
    • → Romanian: teribil
• → Middle English: terrible
  • English: terrible

References

• “terrible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin terribilis. Cognate with English terrible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /teˈrible/ [t̪eˈri.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: te‧rri‧ble

Adjective

terrible m or f (masculine and feminine plural terribles)

1. terrible, awful, horrible (very bad)
2. appalling (shocking, causing consternation)
3. terrific (very great or intense)

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Chavacano: terrible

Further reading

• “terrible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10