Which one should you use?
While horrible is a common way to say something is bad, you might use Terrible to convey that something is truly awful in both formal and informal contexts. If you want to suggest something is horrifying or frightful, you can use the formal term Espantoso. For expressing extremely poor quality or an abysmal state of affairs, the formal term Pésimo is appropriate.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may hear Fatal or De pena to express that something is horrible or really bad. In Mexico, the term Chafa is used to suggest that something is terrible. In parts of Latin America, Guácala is used to describe something as disgusting, repulsive or horrible.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word horrible is invariant for gender, so it stays the same whether the noun it describes is masculine or feminine. To make the word plural, add an -s to form horribles.
How do you pronounce it?
/oˈrible/
Did you know?
- While horrible describes quality, the word fatal in Spanish is often used to describe a person's mood or health. Saying estoy fatal usually means 'I feel terrible' rather than 'I am destined for disaster'.
- Spanish has a distinct word pésimo for the absolute worst level of quality. While horrible is a general negative, pésimo is the superlative form of malo, meaning 'the worst'.
- The word espantoso shares a root with espantar, which means 'to scare away' or 'to frighten'. It describes something so horrible that it causes a fright.
Examples in context
- La paga es horrible.The pay is horrible.This sentence is useful for describing the quality of pay.Tatoeba #5952291 by albrusgher, translation #3494303 by Hybrid
- Era una idea horrible.It was a horrible idea.This sentence is useful for describing an idea.Tatoeba #6489130 by diegohn, translation #3635802 by CK
- Tu aspecto es horrible.You look horrible.This sentence is useful for describing how someone looks.Tatoeba #7715917 by arh, translation #2255037 by CK
- El accidente fue espantoso.The accident was horrible.
- El servicio al cliente es terrible.The customer service is horrible.
- Mi experiencia en el hotel fue pésima.My experience at the hotel was horrible.
- ¡Qué película más horrorosa! No pude terminar de verla.What a horrible movie! I couldn't finish watching it.
- El examen fue pésimo. No entendí nada.The exam was awful. I didn't understand anything.
- ¡El tráfico está fatal hoy!The traffic is horrible today!
- El servicio del hotel fue de pena.The hotel service was horrible.
- ¡Qué mala onda que no nos dejaron entrar!How awful that they didn't let us in!
- 47 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are discussing a movie they just saw.
- SofíaLa película fue horrible.The movie was horrible.
- JavierSí, el final fue horrible.Yes, the ending was horrible.
- SofíaNo me gustó nada.I didn't like it at all.
- JavierEs verdad, fue una pérdida de tiempo.It's true, it was a waste of time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry horrible, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
