horror
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nightmare / horror
Colloquial for an extremely unpleasant, stressful, or terrible situation or experience.
Die Wohnungssuche in dieser Stadt ist der absolute Horror.
Looking for an apartment in this city is an absolute nightmare.
horror
A feeling of great shock, intense fear, or disgust.
Mit purem Horror im Gesicht starrte sie auf die Spinne an der Wand.
With pure horror on her face, she stared at the spider on the wall.
horror
A genre in literature, film, or other media that aims to create fear and terror in the audience.
Stephen King ist ein Meister des Horrors.
Stephen King is a master of horror.
When 'Horror' (nightmare / horror) describes a terrible experience, the word is used colloquially. It expresses a strong, often exaggerated negative emotion about a situation.
Die lange Wartezeit beim Amt war der reine Horror.
The long wait at the government office was pure horror.
In the colloquial meaning, 'Horror' (nightmare / horror) is often intensified with adjectives such as 'der pure Horror' (pure horror) or 'der absolute Horror' (an absolute nightmare) to describe the situation as extremely negative.
Jeden Morgen im Stau zu stehen, ist für mich der absolute Horror.
Being stuck in traffic every morning is an absolute nightmare for me.
To describe the feeling of shock, 'Horror' (horror) is often used with the preposition 'vor' to indicate the cause of the fear. The pattern is: 'vor Horror' + verb, e.g. 'schreien' (to scream), 'erstarren' (to freeze).
Sie erstarrte vor Horror, als sie die Gestalt im Fenster sah.
She froze in horror when she saw the figure in the window.
As a genre label, 'Horror' (horror) is often the first part of compound nouns. Typical examples are 'der Horrorfilm' (horror film), 'die Horrorgeschichte' (horror story), or 'der Horrorroman' (horror novel).
Ich lese gerne Horrorbücher, aber ich schaue nicht gerne Horrorfilme.
I like reading horror books, but I don't like watching horror films.
terror
In colloquial use, Terror and Horror can both describe an extremely burdensome experience. Terror usually emphasizes a severe or ongoing disturbance, while Horror describes the entire situation more generally as extremely unpleasant or terrible. The boundaries can overlap.
Die Woche mit ständigem Baulärm vor unserem Schlafzimmer war der Horror.
The week of constant construction noise outside our bedroom was a nightmare.
Der wochenlange Baulärm vor unserem Schlafzimmer war echter Terror.
The weeks of construction noise outside our bedroom were sheer torture.
