hemsk

hemsk is a Swedish adjective meaning "horrible" or "dreadful." It is used to describe things that provoke fear, disgust, or strong distress, and it can modify nouns directly or be used predicatively. Examples include en hemsk olycka (a horrible accident) and dagen var hemsk (the day was horrible). The adverb form is hemskt, and the related noun is hemskhet, meaning horror or dread.

Usage and nuance: Hemskt carries strong negative emotion and is common in everyday language, media reporting, and literature. It can describe concrete events (a hemsk olycka), memories (ett hemskt minne), or abstract situations (en hemsk tid). For less intense contexts, synonyms such as fasansfull or fruktansvärd may be preferred. In more formal writing, milder terms might be used to avoid excessive emphasis.

Etymology and related forms: The precise origin of hemsk is uncertain, but the word appears in Swedish from medieval times and is generally regarded as part of the Germanic word family meaning "horrible" or "fearful." Cognates exist in other Scandinavian languages, reflecting a shared ancestry.

See also: fasansfull, fruktansvärd, skrämmande, hemska ord.