I was watching “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN a couple days ago, when Tony Kornheiser used the word “horrific” to describe one of the defensive plays in the previous night’s World Series game. Tony is a journalist, and I would have thought he’d have a better understanding of the word, so I consulted MW31. Specifically, I wanted to compare the definitions of horrible, horrid, and horrific. I also wanted to contrast them with the definition of terrible, which is the word I thought Kornheiser should have used.
Here are abbreviated definitions of the words, from MW3, including some usage examples:
horrible: 1 : marked by or conducive to horror : likely to arouse fear, dread, or abhorrence <coconuts in the horrible likeness of a head shrunken by headhunters — Sinclair Lewis> <her hearers derived a horrible enjoyment from … her wrath — Charles Dickens>
2 : extremely unpleasant or disagreeable : conducive to feelings of acute dislike, disgust, or repulsion <of all horrors in this blessed town, snow is the most horrible — W.M.Thackeray> <the weather is always horrible when I travel — Aldous Huxley>horrid: a : being such as to inspire horror : DREADFUL, HIDEOUS, SHOCKING <performed a horrid … rite of that strange magic — Emma Hawkridge> b : inspiring disgust or repulsion : very offensive
horrific: dreadful to behold or contemplate : inspiring horror or fear : HORRIFYING, HORRIBLE <this horrific picture of conditions in the mining industry — British Book News> <horrific black headlines in our daily papers — Charles Jackson>
terrible: 1 a : exciting extreme alarm : FRIGHTENING, TERRIFYING; b : overwhelmingly tragic; c : formidable in nature : commanding respect : AWESOME, IMPOSING; d : requiring extreme effort or fortitude : DIFFICULT, LABORIOUS <a terrible ordeal> <a terrible task>
2 : extreme in degree : GREAT, INTENSE <terrible anxiety>
3 a : defective or injurious in nature : BAD, DESTRUCTIVE <the road got bumpier … and the land on either side of it was in terrible shape — Emily Hahn>; b : strongly repulsive : DISREPUTABLE, OBNOXIOUS <musk … smells simply terrible by itself — D.W.Dresden>
4 a : tending to appall : DREADFUL, SHOCKING <blend of terrible sentimentality and brassy sophistication — Wolcott Gibbs>; b : of very poor quality : AWFUL, PUNK <bought a drink of terrible whiskey — Herbert Asbury>
First off, note that horrible and horrific are, for the most part, synonymous. However, note that nowhere in the definition of terrible do we find horrible, horrific, or horrid. Fearful is given as a synonym for all three words (not shown in my excerpts), but that is because the meanings of fearful encompass all three words; that doesn’t mean that horrible = terrible.
Of course, English being the very fluid language that it is, such distinctions are quite often overlooked. Hence, the increasing use of “horrific” (because it sounds more terrible, I imagine) instead of “horrible,” and even more instead of “terrible.” Frankly, I think it’s a terrible trend, and I am horrified by the liberties taken with the language anymore. (In fact, some of those liberties terrify me, but we’ll stay away from politics here.)
So on this Halloween, remember that the monster mask on the seven-year-old is intended to be horrifying, but the teeny-bopper costume on the matronly woman three doors down, while it may be equally frightening, is simply an example of terrible taste.2
- Meriam-Webster’s 3rd International Dictionary of English (Unabridged) ↩
- I shouldn’t have to do this, but I will point out that my apparent prescriptivism is mostly tongue-in-cheek. On the other hand, if you don’t substitute “horrific” when you mean “really terrible,” you just might save a kitten. I’m just sayin’… ↩
But I think you’re inferring a meaning that Kornheiser didn’t intend, and in doing so you’re making a mistake that, frankly, video rental stores have been making for a long time. You’re assuming that what he meant was definition 4a of “terrible” (“tending to appall : DREADFUL, SHOCKING”). But “horrific” works equally well: “That defensive play was horrific” can be read as “I am horrified that a team that made it to the World Series thought this play was a good idea” or “I am horrified by how poorly the team executed that play”.
Horror and terror have different connotations, the denotations aside. By assuming that he must mean “appalling” rather than “disgusting”, I think you’re the one who’s underestimating the versatility of the English language.
Chris Anthony recently posted…Everyday Delight 18 – Saturday in the Park Edition
First, for some reason your comment got caught in my spam filter, and I’ve been remiss in checking it this week. Sorry for the delay in replying.
Second, you make a valid point. However, and I should have included this in the article initially—mea culpa—given the context of Kornheiser’s comment (“That throw was absolutely horrific!”), he meant “terrible.”
On Twitter: @_steve_hall
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steve Hall (Kestrel), Steve Hall (Kestrel). Steve Hall (Kestrel) said: New at the Aerie! Is Halloween Horrific, or Merely Terrible? http://goo.gl/fb/NpukJ [...]
Hm! I was glad to read my initial thoughts for “horrific” were on the right track—that “a horrific tragedy” would be correct, whereas a “horrific dress” would not (unless it was, say, part of a ghastly or gruesome halloween costume).
Maybe thesauruses are used too much these days
Wait… this has brought another question to mind! Uhoh! To the forums with me.
On Twitter: @maziltov
Although if the matronly woman’s costume is dreadful to behold or contemplate maybe we can describe it as horrific.
Karen (from Scraps of Mind) recently posted…Scrapbook Organization – Ribbon Storage Ideas
Oh, indeed! But I was leaving that as an exercise for the reader.
On Twitter: @_steve_hall