épouvantable

dreadful, appalling

adjective eh-poo-vahn-TAH-bluh Less Common

Usage Note

Épouvantable conveys something causing horror or revulsion, stronger than mauvais (bad) but often used colloquially for mere annoyance (une météo épouvantable — dreadful weather). The related noun l'épouvante means 'terror' or 'horror' (un film d'épouvante = a horror film). The adverb form épouvantablement is also in common use.

Examples

"Il faisait un temps épouvantable ce soir-là."

Natural Translation

The weather was dreadful that evening.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Aller + Infinitive: The Easy French Future

Form the French near future in seconds: conjugate aller in the present and add an infinitive. Learn futur proche rules, negation, pronouns, and when to use it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

Je t'aime vs Je t'adore: I Love You in French

Je t'aime is the real romantic I love you; je t'adore means warm fondness, not romance. Here's the person-vs-thing rule and the bien trap that flips it.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

French Noun Gender: Rules to Guess Right 80%

Guess French noun gender right 80% of the time using word endings: -age, -ment, -eau are masculine; -tion, -té, -ette are feminine. A high-yield system.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read