terrible

/ˈtɛrəbəl/
adjectiveBeginner
general

extremely bad or unpleasant

She had a terrible experience at the restaurant.

She had a very bad experience at the restaurant.

The movie was terrible; we left halfway through.

The movie was very bad; we left halfway through.

💡

Often used to emphasize the severity of something negative.

informal

very difficult or challenging

The math test was terrible; I barely passed.

The math test was very difficult; I barely passed.

💡

Can be used to describe something that is hard to deal with.

Collocations

terrible mistakea very bad errorterrible newsvery bad informationterrible painextremely bad pain

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Phrases

terrible twosphrase
the stage in a child's development around age two, characterized by tantrums and difficult behavior

💡Pro Tip

Emphasis

Use 'terrible' to emphasize how bad something is, often stronger than 'bad' or 'awful'.

Gold Rule

Context Matters

'Terrible' is subjective; what one person finds terrible, another might not.

📖Word Origin

From Middle English 'terrible', from Old French 'terrible', from Latin 'terribilis', meaning 'frightening' or 'causing fear', from 'terrere' (to frighten).

📝Usage Notes

Often used to express strong disapproval or to describe something that is very unpleasant or severe.

Word Breakdown

terr
fear
root
+
-ible
able to be
suffix
English Dictionary