1. An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear. See synonyms at fear.
2. Intense dislike; abhorrence.
3. A cause of horror.
4. Informal. Something unpleasant, ugly, or disagreeable: That hat is a horror.
5. horrors Informal. Intense nervous depression or anxiety. Often used with the.

[Middle English horrour, from Old French horreur, from Latin horror, from horrēre, to tremble.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.