Horrifical

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to horror.

    "If the pine woods be characterized by cathedral solemnity, and the cedars and tamaracks by certain horrifical gloom, and the popples by a silvery sunshine, and the berry-clearings by grateful heat and the homely manner of familiar birds, then the great hardwood must be known as the dwelling-place of transparent shadows, of cool green lucence, and the repository of immemorial cheerful forest tradition which the traveler can hear of, but which he is never permitted actually to know."

Example

More examples

"If the pine woods be characterized by cathedral solemnity, and the cedars and tamaracks by certain horrifical gloom, and the popples by a silvery sunshine, and the berry-clearings by grateful heat and the homely manner of familiar birds, then the great hardwood must be known as the dwelling-place of transparent shadows, of cool green lucence, and the repository of immemorial cheerful forest tradition which the traveler can hear of, but which he is never permitted actually to know."

Etymology

From horrific + -al.

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