What does "horror" mean?
Horror: A shaking, shivering, or shuddering, as in the cold fit which precedes a fever; in old medical writings, a chill of less severity than a rigor, and more marked than an algor.
Additional senses
- 2.A painful emotion of fear, dread, and abhorrence; a shuddering with terror and detestation; the feeling inspired by something frightful and shocking. How could this, in the sight of heaven, without horrors of conscience be uttered Milton.
- 3.That which excites horror or dread, or is horrible; gloom; dreariness. Breathes a browner horror on the woods. Pope. The horrors, delirium tremens. [Colloq.]
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-horror-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00