Meanings
- not comparableHorrible to say; horribly.
1 more example
We first meet the Ericksons in 1973, at the wedding of the family’s eldest child, Anita, a small-town beauty for whom marriage and motherhood ultimately become traps more than prizes; her husband is not just a drinker and a poor father but, horribile dictu, a banker who forecloses on local farms even when those farms are owned by Erickson friends or relations.
2011 May 6, Jonathan Dee, “A Midwestern Family’s Withered Roots”, in The New York Times
Origin
- Latinhorribile dictu
- Englishhorribile dictu
Borrowed from Latin horribile dictu (literally “horrible to say”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French horribile dictu
- horribile dictuhorrible to say
German horribile dictu
- horribile dictuhorrible to say
Hungarian horribile dictu
- horribile dictuhorrible to say
Polish horribile dictu
- horribile dictuhorrible to say
Cite this entry
horribile dictu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horribile%20dictu
“horribile dictu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horribile%20dictu. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “horribile dictu,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/horribile%20dictu.
Source: horribile dictu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.