What does "affreux" mean?

A group of particularly brutal mercenaries who were active in Africa and Asia during the 1960s.

What is a synonym for "affreux"?

Common synonyms include: buggish, buttock-clenching, dismayful, flaysome, freaky, frightening.

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A group of particularly brutal mercenaries who were active in Africa and Asia during the 1960s. plural, plural-only
"As one Belgian journalist wrote: The affreux ["frightful ones"] are outstanding in combat."

Adjective

1
Dreadful; disturbing or frightening. rare
"And when I signified my intention of making a tour of the whole province, they most earnestly advised me to alter my plans, and occupy my time in visiting some other part of the kingdom; for they assured me, that all travellers who attempted Basse Bretagne, returned in disgust before they went more thant a few stages into the country, for that its general aspect was that of desolation itself; the roads were impassable ; and the people dirty, ragged barbarians, living in filthy huts, and clothed in sheepskins; that, in short, everything was affreux."

"As one Belgian journalist wrote: The affreux ["frightful ones"] are outstanding in combat."

From French affreux.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.