different between terrible vs outrageous

English

Etymology

From Middle English terrible, from Old French, from Latin terribilis (“frightful”), from terre? (“I frighten, terrify, alarm; I deter by terror, scare (away)”). Compare terror, deter.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?t?.??.bl?/, /?t?.??.bl?/
• Homophone: tearable, in some accents

Adjective

terrible (comparative terribler or more terrible, superlative terriblest or most terrible)

1. Dreadful; causing terror, alarm and fear; awesome

2. Formidable, powerful.
   • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     […] and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a "true sea-dog," and "real old salt," and such-like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea.
3. Intense; extreme in degree or extent.

4. Unpleasant; disagreeable.

5. Very bad; lousy.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:frightening

Antonyms

• (very bad): excellent

Adverb

terrible (comparative more terrible, superlative most terrible)

1. (colloquial, dialect) In a terrible way; to a terrible extent; terribly; awfully.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• treblier

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

terrible (masculine and feminine plural terribles)

1. terrible (causing fear)
2. terrible (formidable, intense)

French

Etymology

From Latin terribilis

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?.?ibl/

Adjective

terrible (plural terribles)

1. (all senses) terrible
2. (colloquial) great, excellent

Derived terms

• enfant terrible

Related terms

• terreur
• terriblement
• terrifier

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin terribilis. Cognate with English terrible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /te?rible/, [t?e?ri.??le]
• Hyphenation: te?rri?ble

Adjective

terrible (plural terribles)

1. terrible, awful, horrible (very bad)
2. appalling (shocking, causing consternation)
3. terrific (very great or intense)

Derived terms

• terribilísimo
• terriblemente

Related terms

• terror

Further reading

• “terrible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Alternative forms

• outragious (archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman outrageus, Middle French outrageus, from outrage; equivalent to outrage +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /a?t??e?d??s/
• Rhymes: -e?d??s

Adjective

outrageous (comparative more outrageous, superlative most outrageous)

1. Violating morality or decency; provoking indignation or affront. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, First Folio 1623:

     To be, or not to be, that is the Question: / Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer / The Slings and Arrowes of outragious Fortune, / Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them [...].

   • 2011, Paul Wilson, The Guardian, 19 Oct 2011:

     The Irish-French rugby union whistler Alain Rolland was roundly condemned for his outrageous decision that lifting a player into the air then turning him over so he falls on his head or neck amounted to dangerous play.

2. Transgressing reasonable limits; extravagant, immoderate. [from 14th c.]
   • 2004, David Smith, The Observer, 19 Dec 2004:

     Audience members praised McKellen, best known for Shakespearean roles and as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, for his show-stealing turn as Twankey in a series of outrageous glitzy dresses.

3. Shocking; exceeding conventional behaviour; provocative. [from 18th c.]
   • 2001, Imogen Tilden, The Guardian, 8 Dec 2001:

     "It's something I really am quite nervous about," he admits, before adding, with relish: "You have to be a bit outrageous and challenging sometimes."

4. (now rare) Fierce, violent. [from 14th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     For els my feeble vessell, crazd and crackt / Through thy strong buffets and outrageous blowes, / Cannot endure, but needes it must be wrackt [...].

Derived terms

• outrageously
• outrageousness

Related terms

• outrage

Translations

Further reading

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