hideous

English

Etymology

From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”).

Alternative etymology cites possible derivation from Latin hispidosus (“rugged”), from hispidus (“rough, bristly”), yet the semantic evolution is less plausible.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhɪd.i.əs/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɪdiəs

Adjective

hideous (comparative more hideous, superlative most hideous)

Extremely or shockingly ugly.
I’m sorry to break it to you, but your dress looks truly hideous.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
  the Duke's army departed unmolested : but the highway along which he retired presented a piteous and hideous spectacle.
Having a very unpleasant or frightening sound.
- 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
  He started up, growling at first, but finding his leg broken, fell down again; and then got upon three legs, and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard.
Hateful; shocking.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], signature C3, recto:
  [W]hat may this meane, / That thou, dead corſe, againe in compleate ſteele, / Reuiſſits thus the glimſes of the Moone, / Making night hideous, and vve fooles of nature, / So horridely to ſhake our diſpoſition, / VVith thoughts beyond the reaches of our ſoules?
- c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:
  Sure, you have some hideous matter to deliver.
Morally offensive; shocking; detestable.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter IX, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
  when the wind is shrieking, and the men are yelling, and every plank thunders with trampling feet right over Jonah’s head; in all this raging tumult, Jonah sleeps his hideous sleep.

Synonyms

frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, grotesque, horrid, dreadful, terrible

Derived terms

Collocations

with nouns

hideous monster
hideous creature
hideous man
hideous woman
hideous face
hideous thing
hideous crime
hideous form
hideous death
hideous aspect
hideous spectacle
hideous picture
hideous roar
hideous sound
hideous manner
hideous way
hideous disease
hideous mistake
hideous shape
hideous dress
hideous fact
hideous act
hideous smile

Translations

extremely ugly

Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: противен (bg) (protiven)
Catalan: horrible (ca), horripilant (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: afzichtelijk (nl)
Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), inhottava (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
French: hideux (fr)
Old French: hideus
German: scheußlich (de)
Greek: κακάσχημος (el) (kakáschimos)
Hungarian: förtelmes (hu)
Icelandic: hræðilegur (is)
Irish: in anchruth
Italian: orribile (it), orrendo (it) m
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
Maori: weriweri
Norwegian: fæl (no), stygg (no)
Polish: ohydny (pl), obrzydliwy (pl)
Portuguese: horrendo (pt), medonho (pt)
Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
Spanish: horrible (es), odioso (es), chocante, atemorizante (es), horrendo (es), espantoso (es)
Swedish: gräslig (sv), anskrämlig (sv)
Turkish: çirkin (tr), gudubet (tr)
West Frisian: ûnsjoch

distressing or offensive to the ear

Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: akelig (nl)
Esperanto: hida
Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
French: strident (fr)
German: abscheulich (de)
Greek: απαίσιος (el) (apaísios)
Hungarian: szörnyű (hu)
Italian: please add this translation if you can
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
Norwegian: stygg (no)
Portuguese: horrendo (pt), medonho (pt), estridente (pt)
Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
Spanish: discordante, ruidoso (es), estridente (es)
Turkish: cırtlak (tr)
West Frisian: ferskrikkelik, ôfgryslik

hateful; shocking

Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: afgrijselijk (nl)
Finnish: hirveä (fi), kauhea (fi), hirvittävä (fi)
French: atroce (fr), répugnant (fr)
German: abscheulich (de)
Greek: απαίσιος (el) (apaísios)
Hungarian: undok (hu), utálatos (hu)
Irish: fuafar
Italian: odioso (it) m, detestabile (it)
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Latin: taeter
Macedonian: стра́шен (strášen), у́жасен (úžasen), о́двратен (ódvraten)
Norwegian: uhyrlig
Portuguese: horrendo (pt), hediondo (pt)
Russian: стра́шный (ru) (strášnyj), ужа́сный (ru) (užásnyj), отврати́тельный (ru) (otvratítelʹnyj)
Spanish: odioso (es), chocante, truculento (es)
Swedish: avskyvärd (sv)
Turkish: dehşetengiz (tr)
West Frisian: ferskriklik

Middle English

Adjective

hideous

Alternative form of hidous (“terrifying”)