Terrível

Terrível is an adjective in Portuguese that conveys extreme negativity, meaning something is very bad, dreadful, or frightening. It is used to describe people, events, situations, or things, and can also function as a general intensifier in informal speech. In everyday use it can express moral condemnation, physical severity, or emotional impact, as in “um crime terrível,” “uma tempestade terrível,” or “foi terrivelmente triste.”

Origin and relations: Terrível derives from the Latin terribilis, meaning “causing terror, frightful,” from a root related to terror and fear. The term entered Portuguese through the Latin and early Romance languages and has cognates in other languages, notably Spanish terrible, French terrible, and Italian terribile.

Grammar and usage notes: In Portuguese, terrível is an adjective that agrees in number but not in gender, appearing the same in masculine and feminine singular (um problema terrível, uma falha terrível); in plural it becomes terríveis (situações terríveis). It is commonly used in exclamations, as in “Que terrível!” and in more formal writing to emphasize severity. The adverbial form is terrivelmente, used to modify verbs or adjectives (ele ficou terrivelmente atrasado).

See also: synonyms include horrível, medonho, atroz; antonyms include maravilhoso, excelente. The word often appears in idiomatic expressions such as “coisa terrível” (terrible thing) and can be combined with intensifiers or other adjectives to heighten emphasis.