horrors

Noun

horror (countable and uncountable, plural horrors)

1. An intense distressing emotion of fear or repugnance.
   • Their swarthy Hosts wou'd darken all our Plains, / Doubling the native Horror of the War, / And making Death more grim.1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: A tragedy, published 1750, page 44
2. Something horrible; that which excites horror.
   • I saw many horrors during the war.
3. Intense dislike or aversion; an abhorrence.
   • “Mrs. Yule's chagrin and horror at what she called her son's base ingratitude knew no bounds ; at first it was even thought that she would never get over it. […] ”1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition...
4. (uncountable) A genre of fiction designed to evoke a feeling of fear and suspense.
   • Those who enjoy horror, stories overflowing with blood and black mystery, will be grateful to Richard Marsh for writing ‘The Beetle.’1917 February 11, New York Times, Book reviews, page 52
   1. (countable) An individual work in this genre.
5. (colloquial, countable) A nasty or ill-behaved person; a rascal or terror.
   • The neighbour's kids are a pack of little horrors!

See all 8 meanings of horror