Horrified

How to spell horrified

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce horrified

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does horrified mean?

1. adjectiveFilled with sudden shock, fear, or disgust at something.

Horrified in a sentence

• She was horrified to find the basement flooded with sewage.

• The manager looked horrified when the budget figures finally appeared.

Where does horrified come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb horrere, which literally meant 'to bristle' or 'to stand on end', the way hair rises on the skin during a sudden chill or fright. From that physical image Latin built horrificus, 'causing dread', and the verb horrificare, 'to make someone shudder with fear'. English borrowed 'horrify' in the early 1600s, and 'horrified' is simply its past participle, describing someone struck by shock and revulsion. The same horrere root sits inside the familiar words 'horror', 'horrible', and 'horrendous', all of which keep the doubled 'r' that trips up writers. Remembering that the base verb is 'horrify' explains the spelling: the final 'y' turns to 'i' before the '-ed' ending, giving horrified rather than horrifyed.

How the word is built

• horr- (from Latin horrere: to bristle, shudder, dread)
• -ify (to make)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)