horrorhor‧ror /ˈhɒrə $ ˈhɔːrər, ˈhɑː-/ ●●○ W3 noun 
Staff watched in horror as he set himself alight.with horror Many people recoil with horror when they see a big spider like this.to somebody’s horror (=making someone shocked or afraid) To my horror, I realised my shirt was wet with blood. You should have seen the look of horror on his face.2[countable usually plural] something that is very terrible, shocking, or frighteninghorror of the horrors of war3 the horror of something when a situation or event is very unpleasant or shocking: Dense smoke surrounded them, adding to the horror of the situation. Only when the vehicle was lifted did the full horror of the accident become clear.4have a horror of something to be afraid of something or dislike it very much: He has a horror of snakes.5little horror British English a young child who behaves badly6give somebody the horrors to make someone feel unreasonably frightened or nervous7horror of horrors British English used to say how bad something is – often used humorously when you think something is not really very bad
WORD ORIGINhorror
Origin:
1300-1400 Old French horrour, from Latin horror, from horrere ‘to raise one's hair stiffly, shake with fear’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Children in these famine-stricken areas simply cannot be protected from the horror all around them.
- He suddenly realized to his horror that the brakes weren't working.
- He was trembling with horror and disbelief.
- It's hard for me even now to relate my feelings of horror and incredulity about what happened.
- Jocasta turned white, a look of horror on her face.
- One woman cried as she told of the horror of seeing workmates killed in the lift.
- She screamed again and stared in horror at what lay in the doorway.
- That dress is a horror.
- The crowd watched in horror as the plane hit the ground and burst into flames.
- The old cop spoke about the horrors of Alcatraz prison.
- They joined the anti- nuclear campaign after seeing a film about the horrors of Hiroshima.
- To his horror, PC Kelly saw a handgun protruding from the man's coat.
- To my horror, I saw James' car draw up outside the gate.
- And as the horror sunk in, the form of a man who won nine titles last season deserted him.
- But why shackle yourself to that horror?
- He read about Jacques Delors's federalist vision from which he recoiled in horror.
- His eyes were fixed always on that unseen horror.
- Satisfaction and horror jostle for position on his face.
- Then you turn 40 and, to your horror, you find that you are all too perishable.
- This group of woodcut prints foreshadows the horrors that were to come.
- To the horror of friends and family, many of those unhappy lawyers are shucking their partnerships.
Longman Language Activatortypes of film
a film that is intended to make you feel frightened, for example one in which people get attacked by strange creatures, or in which dead people come to life
informal a film that is intended to make you feel frightened, in which people are suddenly violently attacked and killed
a film that is intended to make you laugh and usually has a happy ending
a film about life in the future, often with people or creatures who live in other parts of the universe
a film that tells an exciting story about murder or crime
a film about cowboys and life in the 19th century in the American West
a film about people fighting a war
a film that has a lot of exciting events in it, for example people fighting or chasing each other in cars
a film about people who are on a long journey in a car, and the adventures they have while they are travelling
a film that is intended to make you laugh, about two people who meet and have a romantic relationship
a film made using photographs of models or drawings, which are put together to look as if they are moving
a long film in which a lot of things happen, for example one about a period in history or the whole of someone's life
the feeling of being frightened the feeling you have when you are very frightened, or the thought that something very unpleasant will happen: · The boy's eyes were full of fear.fear of: · Fears of a recession have wiped billions of dollars off share values.· fear of flying· My fear of the dentist goes back to when I was a child.fear that: · There was always the fear that he might never return.do something in fear (=do something because you feel fear): · I glanced around in fear. Was someone following me?do something in fear of your life (=do something because you think you are going to be killed): · People fled in fear of their lives, as mud began to pour down the mountainside.shake/tremble/go white etc with fear: · Her hands were shaking with fear.frozen/sick with fear: · The boat had gone. We stood frozen with fear, staring at the sea.hopes and fears (=the things that you hope will happen and the things that you are frightened will happen): · On New Year's Eve we come together, and share our hopes and fears for the coming year.
a very strong feeling of fear when you think that something very bad is going to happen to you, especially that you will be killed: · Denver burst from the room, terror in her eyes.· The men on the quivering, battered boat were mad with terror.· Their faces were white, and their eyes were filled with terror.in terror (=because you are very frightened): · Shots were fired, and the children fled in terror.sheer terror (=very great terror): · I will never forget the look of sheer terror on her face.terror-stricken (=feeling terror): · Terror-stricken refugees fled across the border.
a strong feeling of shock and fear that you have when you see something terrible happen, or when you think of something terrible: · Jocasta turned white, a look of horror on her face. in horror: · The crowd watched in horror as the plane hit the ground and burst into flames.to somebody's horror (=making someone feel very frightened): · He suddenly realized to his horror that the brakes weren't working.· To his horror, PC Kelly saw a handgun protruding from the man's coat.
a sudden, strong feeling of fear when you are in a dangerous situation, that often makes you do things that are not sensible because you cannot think clearly: · There was a sudden panic and everyone started rushing towards the door.in panic: · Shoppers fled the street in panic after two bombs exploded in central London.get into a panic/be thrown into a panic: · She got into a real panic when she thought she'd lost the tickets.panic-stricken (=feeling panic): · The panic-stricken crowd pushed through the exit, and 10 people were crushed to death.
a feeling of fear because you think something bad is going to happen although you do not have any real reason for thinking this: · "Jeanie, I have to go away," he said, his voice full of foreboding.a feeling/sense of foreboding: · As they waited at the airfield, Sara had the same feeling of foreboding that she had felt before her father died.· He had a sudden sense of foreboding. Something was wrong, very wrong.
an event or situation that frightens people a situation in which a lot of people are frightened of something such as a serious illness, violence, or a problem that may harm them - used especially in news reports: · Aids has caused such a scare that fewer and fewer people are giving blood.scare about/over: · A year after Chernobyl the scare about radioactive food had died down.bomb scare (=when there is a report that there is a bomb): · Retail sales were down due to a spate of bomb scares before Christmas.food/health scare: · Some people, nervous about the health scare over cellular phones, have started using hands-free apparatus.
an event or situation which frightens and shocks people because they see terrible things happening: · Children in these famine-stricken areas simply cannot be protected from the horror all around them.the horror of: · One woman cried as she told of the horror of seeing workmates killed in the lift.· They joined the anti- nuclear campaign after seeing a film about the horrors of Hiroshima.
a film or story that is intended to frighten you: horror film/movie/story etc a film or story that is intended to make you feel frightened: · The movie is based on a horror story by Stephen King.· a low-budget horror film about a group of teenagers in a wood
a film or book that is intended to be exciting and frightening because you do not know what will happen next: · Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal team up in a thriller about a hijacked plane.action/crime/psychological etc thriller: · 'Psycho' is Hitchcock's greatest psychological thriller.· 'Bullet to Beijing', a spy thriller, starring Michael Caine and Michael Gambon
the feeling of being shocked the unpleasant feeling of surprise that you have when something bad happens, especially when you do not expect it: · Fellow students expressed shock and dismay over the racist incidents. with shock: · We listened to the announcer with shock and disbelief -- another bomb had exploded in the city.
a very strong feeling of surprise and disbelief that you have when something very unpleasant or frightening happens: · It's hard for me even now to relate my feelings of horror and incredulity about what happened.in horror: · She screamed again and stared in horror at what lay in the doorway.with horror: · He was trembling with horror and disbelief.to my/your/his etc horror: · To my horror, I saw James' car draw up outside the gate.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY You should have seen the look of horror on his face. Only when the vehicle was lifted did the full horror of the accident become clear.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Their faces were suddenly filled with fear. She froze with horror. We recoil in horror from the thought of subjecting someone to extreme pain.
(=making someone shocked or afraid) To my horror, I realised my shirt was wet with blood.
To my horror, I realised my shirt was wet with blood. You should have seen the look of horror on his face. Only when the vehicle was lifted did the full horror of the accident become clear. Their faces were suddenly filled with fear.· He likes watching horror films.
She froze with horror. We recoil in horror from the thought of subjecting someone to extreme pain.· Hilary stared in disbelief at the kitchen clock.
· They sat round the fire telling ghost stories.· She likes reading horror stories.
· They wanted to forget the horrors of war they had witnessed.
· He watched in horror as the flames engulfed his house.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Thus, it may be thought that the term rape conveys the full horror of the event.· The only thing alive was the brooding darkness, full of horrors and spiders, waiting to pounce.· As the full horror of the explosion unfolded, the Halifax building society was reduced to a mound of rubble.· Finally the full horror of the deed is unveiled.· Now as he began to understand the story in its full horror, his face was like an old man's.· The full horror of life in a Victorian industrial area is obvious here.· Members of the family are still reluctant to reveal the full horrors they endured in their homeland.
· And that little horror Zach was around.· Weaver said Tuesday night while sipping wine and brandishing various medieval weapons for sale in his little shop of horrors.
· She threw up her hands in mock horror as the little pomeranian ran yapping among the guests.
NOUN· It was a monumental folly, which could have been made for horror films.· One will get the original predatory alien, the delight of sci-fi horror films.· It looked like something out of a horror film, a malevolent presence swallowing everything before it.· It reminded him of the zombies he had seen in the horror film at the Empire.· Boys like that shouldn't be packed off to horror films all on their own.· It reminded me of the ghost in the horror film I had heard some of the older children talking about.· Had a call from the casting director of a new horror film yesterday.
· Taken at face value the words found sinister and can convey a false impression like some sort of second-rate horror movie.· The festival presents horror movies, backed up by commentary on their scientific authenticity, or lack thereof.· So I sat them down and made them watch the horror movie Cujo.· The second slide showed a mouse that had ballooned into something out of a horror movie.· Voice over Hampden's great house was bought by Hammer films in the 70's to make horror movies.· He'd played in some eminently forgettable horror movies and I felt I could not seriously consider him.· It sounds like something out of a horror movie.· In the early 1960s one result of shrinking cinema audiences was the Sunday double bill of low budget horror movies.
· But the refugees' horror stories have not changed.· There are so many horror stories about ESOPs that many men would just prefer to sign their money away.· And still the horror stories go on.· The tie-up had been a favorite horror story that Jemmalee enjoyed telling to Carol when Carol was beginning to under-stand tyranny.· Tell us your medical horror story.· This true-life horror story coming out of Los Angeles a few years back became an instant media sensation.· The onset of a campaign has brought to mind some of the horror stories of the trail.· You hear some horror stories about it.
VERB· Social reformers were not slow to describe the horrors of such places.· A panel of kids describes the horrors of their environment: Five of seven have seen some one murdered in front of them.· In a letter to Mrs Coutts he described the horror and the misery from which the mock election was a welcome diversion.· Medical personnel described a scene of horror, as the gymnasium was turned into a killing field.· She describes the horrors of matrimony with vivacious comic indignation, dazzling wit and choice of expression, and with breathtaking eloquence.
· Politically, expressing horror at degeneracy was expedient.· The Government have expressed their horror at such attacks on the police, but they also need to act.
· Now however, it only fills him with horror, the chill marble is like the cold of the corpse.· She gazed at Ruth, and her face seemed to fill up with horror.· His eyes, which, moments earlier, had been filled with fear and horror, were now clear, almost calm.· The idea of sub-contracting an exhibition piece now fills me with abject horror.· The thought of a day, let alone months, spent on board a narrow boat would fill her with horror.· Their faces were filled with horror and fear when they saw me.
· The man sitting next to her grandmother wore the distinctive sharp-peaked cap of the Gestapo and Peach froze with horror.· Running through the orange grove, which already had little green oranges on, past the chickens, she froze with horror.
· I have heard every horror story about the Tideway and have believed them all, fool that I am!· And nearly every day I hear another horror story about some one who left their whole computer open for the world to see.· Antigone and Ismene heard with horror what Creon had decided.· You hear some horror stories about it.· I have heard every horror story.
· Mobuto recoiled in horror, stumbling back painfully into the Studebaker's wing mirror.· I should have gasped and recoiled in horror.· He read about Jacques Delors's federalist vision from which he recoiled in horror.· The idea of their having a say in the running of a club appears to make officials recoil with horror.· Rebus's face changed; he recoiled in horror, but Osvaldo had his thumbs hooked in the malai's belt.
· I stare in horror at its bloody mouth, that vertical stitch of red wool now dribbling crimson.· Bertha enters and stares in horror.· Agnes looked up at Vlad, who was staring in horror.· He turned to cover it, then stopped and stared in horror.· She stared in horror at the whitened, frozen cadavers which lay there under a tattered, canvas sheet.· She stared at it in horror.· Unable to move, I stared in horror at the shape behind the glass, and screamed.
· Some shoppers tell horror stories of plastic bags ripping apart as they carry a gallon jug of milk.· Surely it wasn't possible, she told herself in horror.· She can tell the Holocaust horror stories now without bursting into tears.
· Teesdale turned in horror and came out at once, his face grey with fear.· The pictures Elizabeth took that day have become more than just snaps of a holiday that turned to horror.· Frye was turning slowly in horror to look behind him, at the reception wall.· But it couldn't have come at a worse time, given that their volatile relationship has turned into a horror story.· They turn unspeakable horror into honour and glory.· In seconds, the whole wreckage was engulfed in raging flames and happiness had turned to horror.· An enterprise as vast as the education service is bound to turn up horror stories daily.· In this situation, many women find their minds turning to horror stories such as that of Marie Wilkes.
· As they watched in horror, they saw flames eating their way up one of the heavy curtains.· So I sat them down and made them watch the horror movie Cujo.· The Danley management, the cops, stood across the street, watching in horror.· Elizabeth watched with fascinated horror the forcible feeding practised on the poor children.· From inside the car, their two children watched in horror.· I watch his face in horror.· We watch such things with horror and envy.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► the horror of somethingPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be struck with horror/terror/awe etc
1[uncountable] a strong feeling of shock and fearin horror- But she had told Dorothy, who had told the parents, that Ben gave her the horrors.
- The thought of soiled nappies and vomit on my clothes gives me the horrors.
- At worst there was the danger - horror of horrors! - of falling in.
- He wondered what Vic's reaction might be if he ever found out or, horror of horrors, caught him red-handed?
- I had long had a horror of alcohol.
- I have a horror of supermarkets.
- It showed itself to have a horror of socialism already in the nineteenth century.
- And that little horror Zach was around.
- No wrong questions, no mock surprise.
- She threw up her hands in mock horror as the little pomeranian ran yapping among the guests.
- With mock surprise, he settled into the love seat, draping his arms along its top.
- But instead of throwing up her hands and blaming the problem on organizational chaos, she stepped back and analyzed the situation.
- Davide had seen the priests, who had shrugged and thrown up their hands indolently at the laundress's problem.
- Even his most recent wife, Mercedes, had thrown up her hands.
- He rounded the bend nearest the building, and nearly dropped the branch for throwing up his hands in frustration.
- Here Abie threw up his hands at the ignorance of policemen.
- Jenny exclaimed to E.. Ames, throwing up her hands.
- Paul Reichmann threw up his hands in protest at the suggestion, but did not utter a sound.
- Then they throw up their hands, wondering why the benefits they have been pursuing never seem to accrue.
Staff watched in horror as he set himself alight.with horror Many people recoil with horror when they see a big spider like this.to somebody’s horror (=making someone shocked or afraid) To my horror, I realised my shirt was wet with blood. You should have seen the look of horror on his face.2[countable usually plural] something that is very terrible, shocking, or frighteninghorror of the horrors of war3 the horror of something when a situation or event is very unpleasant or shocking: Dense smoke surrounded them, adding to the horror of the situation. Only when the vehicle was lifted did the full horror of the accident become clear.4have a horror of something to be afraid of something or dislike it very much: He has a horror of snakes.5little horror British English a young child who behaves badly6give somebody the horrors to make someone feel unreasonably frightened or nervous7horror of horrors British English used to say how bad something is – often used humorously when you think something is not really very bad