horror

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhɒrə/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust: children screamed in horror
  • a thing causing a feeling of horror: photographs showed the horror of the tragedy [count noun]: the horrors of civil war
  • a literary or film genre concerned with arousing feelings of horror: [as modifier]: a horror film
  • intense dismay: to her horror she found that a thief had stolen the machine
  • [as exclamation] (horrors) chiefly humorous used to express dismay: horrors, two buttons were missing!
  • [in singular] intense dislike: many have a horror of consulting a dictionary
  • (the horrors) an attack of extreme nervousness or anxiety: the mere thought of it gives me the horrors
  • 2 informal a bad or mischievous person, especially a child: that little horror Zach was around

Origin:

Middle English: via Old French from Latin horror, from horrere 'tremble, shudder' (see horrid)