Egregious vs Hideous - What's the difference?
egregious | hideous |
Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.
* 16thC , ,
* c1605 , , Act 2, Scene 3,
* 22 March 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]
* '>citation
Outrageously bad; shocking.
Frightful; shocking; extremely ugly.
Distressing or offensive to the ear; horrible.
* 1719 ,
Hateful; shocking.
As adjectives the difference between egregious and hideous
is that egregious is exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion while hideous is frightful; shocking; extremely ugly.egregious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The student has made egregious errors on the examination.
- I cannot cross my arms, or sigh "Ah me," / "Ah me forlorn!" egregious foppery! / I cannot buss thy fill, play with thy hair, / Swearing by Jove, "Thou art most debonnaire!"
- My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.
- When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious .
Usage notes
The negative meaning arose in the late 16th century, probably originating in sarcasm. Before that, it meant outstanding in a good way. Webster also gives “distinguished” as an archaic form, and notes that its present form often has an unpleasant connotation (e.g., "an egregious error" ). It generally precedes such epithets as “rogue,” “rascal,” "ass," “blunderer”.hideous
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- A piteous and hideous spectacle." .
- He started up, growling at first, but finding his leg broken, fell down again; and then got upon three legs, and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard.
- Sure, you have some hideous matter to deliver. -
