horrify

Horrify is a verb meaning to cause intense fear, shock, or disgust in someone. It is typically used transitively: for example, “The film horrified audiences,” or “The news horrified the nation.” The present participle is horrifying, and the past participle is horrified, as in “The crowd was horrified.” The word is often used to describe strong, sudden emotional reactions to events, images, or ideas.

Etymology and form: Horrify derives from the noun horror, which in turn comes from Latin horrere, meaning to bristle or shudder. The suffix -ify forms verbs meaning to make or become, so horrify literally means to make someone experience horror. The term entered English in the late Middle to early modern period and has since become a standard part of the vocabulary for describing powerful reactions.

Usage and nuance: Horrify conveys a stronger or more unsettling reaction than merely frightening or shocking. It is commonly used for disturbing news, graphic depictions, morally troubling acts, or events that provoke revulsion as well as fear. The related adjective horrific describes things that cause horror, while the noun horror denotes the emotion or genre associated with such effects. Common collocations include “horrify someone,” “be horrified by,” and “horrifying footage” or “horrific scenes.”

See also: horror, horrific, horror genre, appall, shock, fright. These terms share a semantic field related to intense emotional reactions to danger, violence, or moral transgression.