different between horrendous vs loathsome

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horrendus, future participle of horre? (“I dread”), +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• enPR: h?r?n'd?s, IPA^(key): /h????nd?s/
• Rhymes: -?nd?s

Adjective

horrendous (comparative more horrendous, superlative most horrendous)

1. Extremely bad; awful; terrible.

   There was horrendous carnage at the scene of the plane crash.

   My journey to work this morning was horrendous!

Synonyms

• awful, horrific, terrible, dreadful

Related terms

• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrify
• horror

Translations

Trivia

One of four common words ending in -dous, which are hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, and tremendous.

References

English

Alternative forms

• loathesome

Etymology

From Middle English lothsum, from Old English *l?þsum, from Proto-West Germanic *laiþsam, equivalent to loath +? -some. Cognate with Middle Low German lêtsam (“arduous”), German leidsam (“sad, sorry”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l??ð.s?m/, /?l???.s?m/

Adjective

loathsome (comparative more loathsome, superlative most loathsome)

1. Highly offensive; abominable, sickening.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "loathsome" is often applied: disease, creature, thing, person, man, woman, dungeon, place, world, smell, act.

Derived terms

• loathsomely
• loathsomeness
• unloathsome

Translations

Further reading

• loathsome in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• loathsome in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• loathsome at OneLook Dictionary Search