terrible

terrible
adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin terribilis, from terrēre to frighten — more at terror Date: 15th century 1. a. exciting extreme alarm or intense fear ; terrifying b. formidable in nature ; awesome <
a terrible responsibility
>
c. difficult <
in a terrible bind
>
2. extreme, great <
a terrible disappointment
>
3. extremely bad: as a. strongly repulsive ; obnoxious <
a terrible smell
>
b. notably unattractive or objectionable <
terrible behavior
>
c. of very poor quality <
a terrible movie
>
terribleness nounterribly adverb

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • terrible — [ teribl ] adj. • 1160; lat. terribilis 1 ♦ (Choses) Qui inspire de la terreur (1o), qui amène ou peut amener de grands malheurs. ⇒ effrayant, redoutable, terrifiant. Cauchemar terrible. ⇒ affreux (1o). Une terrible maladie. « Un mal soudain et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • terrible — adjetivo 1. (antepuesto / pospuesto) Que produce terror, o que puede acarrear grandes males: Anoche tuve una terrible pesadilla. Éste ha sido un año terrible para la economía española. El cáncer es una terrible enfermedad. Sinónimo: espantoso,… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • terrible — terrible, terribly have gone the way of other words of this type, such as awful / awfully, dreadful / dreadfully, frightful / frightfully; that is, terrible intensifies something by definition bad (a terrible mistake) and terribly intensifies… …   Modern English usage

  • terrible — Terrible. adj. de t. g. Qui donne de la terreur. Les jugements de Dieu sont terribles. l heure de la mort est terrible. Il signifie fig. Estonnant, extraordinaire, tant en bonne qu en mauvaise part. Il a une terrible memoire, il retient tout ce… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Terrible — Ter ri*ble, a. [F., fr. L. terribilis, fr. terrere to frighten. See {Terror}.] 1. Adapted or likely to excite terror, awe, or dread; dreadful; formidable. [1913 Webster] Prudent in peace, and terrible in war. Prior. [1913 Webster] Thou shalt not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Terrible — may refer to:*The French ship Le Terrible of the French Navy, of which there have been sixteen. *Eight ships of the English Royal Navy named HMS Terrible since 1694 …   Wikipedia

  • Terrible — bezeichnet mehrere Schiffe dieses Namens, siehe HMS Terrible als Kampfname den Boxer Tim Witherspoon Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • terrible — early 15c., causing terror, frightful, from O.Fr. terrible (12c.), from L. terribilis frightful, from terrere fill with fear, from PIE root *tres to tremble (Cf. Skt. trasati trembles, Avestan tarshta feared, revered, Gk. treëin to tremble, Lith …   Etymology dictionary

  • terrible — index deplorable, dire, formidable, gross (flagrant), heinous, lamentable, loathsome, nefarious …   Law dictionary

  • terrible — terrific, frightful, dreadful, *fearful, awful, horrible, horrific, shocking, appalling Analogous words: frightening, alarming, startling (see FRIGHTEN): agitating, upsetting, disturbing, perturbing (see DISCOMPOSE) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • terrible — [adj] bad, horrible abhorrent, appalling, atrocious, awe inspiring, awesome, awful, beastly, dangerous, desperate, dire, disastrous, disturbing, dread, dreaded, dreadful, extreme, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, harrowing, hateful, hideous …   New thesaurus

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