different between horrible vs homely

English

Etymology

First attested in Middle English (alternately as horrible and orrible) in 1303: from Old French horrible, orrible, orible, from Latin horribilis, from horr(?re) (“tremble”) + -ibilis (“-ible”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h???b?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?h???b?l/, /?h???b?l/, [-b??]
• (NYC, Philadelphia, Ireland) IPA^(key): /?h???b?l/

Noun

horrible (plural horribles)

1. A thing that causes horror; a terrifying thing, particularly a prospective bad consequence asserted as likely to result from an act.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick

     Here's a carcase. I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing. Such a waggish leering as lurks in all your horribles!

   • 1982, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Genocide Convention: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate

     A lot of the possible horribles conjured up by the people objecting to this convention ignore the plain language of this treaty.

   • 1991, Alastair Scott, Tracks Across Alaska: A Dog Sled Journey

     The pot had previously simmered skate wings, cods' heads, whales, pigs' hearts and a long litany of other horribles.

   • 2000, John Dean, CNN interview, January 21, 2000:

     I'm trying to convince him that the criminal behavior that's going on at the White House has to end. And I give him one horrible after the next. I just keep raising them. He sort of swats them away.

   • 2001, Neil K. Komesar, Law's Limits: The Rule of Law and the Supply and Demand of Rights

     Many scholars have demonstrated these horribles and contemplated significant limitations on class actions.

2. A person wearing a comic or grotesque costume in a parade of horribles.

Translations

Adjective

horrible (comparative horribler or more horrible, superlative horriblest or most horrible)

1. Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
2. Tremendously bad.
   • 2010, Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010, page 599:

     Having now absorbed all or parts of 750 responses to my complaints about Transformers, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that most of those writing agree with me that it is a horrible movie.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:frightening
• See Thesaurus:bad

Related terms

• horrific
• horrify
• horror
• horrendous

Translations

References

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horribilis.

Adjective

horrible (epicene, plural horribles)

1. horrible

Related terms

• horror

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horribilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /u?ri.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /o?ri.ble/

Adjective

horrible (masculine and feminine plural horribles)

1. horrible

Derived terms

• horriblement

Related terms

• horror

French

Etymology

From Old French horrible, orrible, orible, borrowed from Latin horribilis.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /?.?ibl/

Adjective

horrible (plural horribles)

1. horrible; causing horror.

Related terms

• horreur

Further reading

• “horrible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• horríbel

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horribilis.

Adjective

horrible m or f (plural horribles)

1. horrible

Derived terms

• horriblemente

Related terms

• horror

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French horrible, orrible, orible, from Latin horribilis.

Adjective

horrible

1. horrible

Descendants

• English: horrible

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin horribilis.

Adjective

horrible (plural horribles)

1. horrible

Derived terms

• horriblemente

Related terms

• horror

English

Alternative forms

• hamely (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain”), from Old English *h?ml?c (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimal?k (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home +? -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?h??mli/
• (US) enPR: h?m?l?, IPA^(key): /?ho?mli/
• Rhymes: -??mli
• Hyphenation: home?ly

Adjective

homely (comparative homelier or more homely, superlative homeliest or most homely)

1. Characteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a home; domestic, cozy. [from early 14th c.]
2. (Canada, US) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.

   • There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass.

   Antonym: comely

3. (Britain dialectal) On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
4. (Britain dialectal, of animals) Domestic; tame.
5. (Britain dialectal) Personal; private.
6. (Britain dialectal) Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
7. (India) Conservative and family-oriented.

8. (archaic) Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned. [from late 14th c.]

Derived terms

• homely as a hedge fence

Translations

Middle English

Adverb

homely

1. Alternative form of homly

Adjective

homely

1. Alternative form of homly