Hideous

How to spell hideous

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce hideous

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hideous mean?

1. adjectiveExtremely ugly, repulsive, or unpleasant to look at or experience.

Hideous in a sentence

• The landlord painted the kitchen a hideous shade of orange.

• She tore down the hideous wallpaper the day she moved in.

Where does hideous come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1200s and 1300s from Old French, where the forms hideus and hisdos meant 'horrible' or 'dreadful'. They were built on the noun hisde or hide, which meant 'fear' or 'horror', so the original sense was less about being ugly to look at and more about inspiring genuine dread. Over the centuries the meaning softened from 'terrifying' toward 'extremely ugly or offensive to the senses', which is how we use it today. The exact ancient root is debated; some trace it to the Latin hispidus, meaning 'rough, bristly or shaggy', though that link is not certain. The spelling trap lies in the ending: the word is built with -ous (not -ious), even though the 'e' before it tempts writers to insert an extra 'i'.

How the word is built

• hide- (from Old French hisde: fear, horror)
• -ous (adjective suffix: full of)