hideous

Meaning

1. Extremely or shockingly ugly.
2. Having a very unpleasant or frightening sound.
3. Hateful; shocking.
4. Morally offensive; shocking; detestable.

Synonyms

horrible

gruesome

awful

abominable

ghastly

ugly

nasty

abhorrent

detestable

vile

loathsome

atrocious

accursed

terrible

dreadful

repulsive

disgusting

monstrous

frightful

horrendous

alien

👽

horrific

grisly

horrid

dreary

appalling

dismal

revolting

lousy

odious

outrageous

foul

repellent

beastly

repelling

unsightly

morbid

agonizing

macabre

gross

dire

lowlife

fearful

😨

repugnant

sleazy

sordid

formidable

low

ugsome

fierce-looking

gagworthy

grody

mank

abject

awing

bad

👎

base

bizarre

creepy

cruel

deformed

depraved

despicable

direful

dirty

disadvantageous

disagreeable

disgustful

displeasing

distasteful

dread

dreaded

evil

execrable

fearsome

filthy

god-awful

gory

grim

grotesque

heinous

icky

ignoble

ill-favored

immoral

loath

lurid

mean

nauseating

nauseous

noisome

obnoxious

piggish

poisonous

scary

terrific

terrifying

unspeakable

wretched

ill-looking

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhɪd.i.əs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hidous

Cognate with Old High German: egisa

Cognate with Old English: egesa

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃

In summary

From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”).
Alternative etymology cites possible derivation from Latin hispidosus (“rugged”), from hispidus (“rough, bristly”), yet the semantic evolution is less plausible.