The adjective horrísono has its etymological root in horrisŏnus , a word from the Latin language. It is an adjective that can be used to describe something that causes panic and terror with its sound .
What is horrifying, therefore, generates fear , discomfort or dismay in the person who hears it. That is why it is often associated with unpleasant sensations.
For example: “Every time I hear the horrible bats outside my window, I get the chills” , “I couldn't sleep all night because of the horrible storm” , “A horrible scream woke the old man from his lethargy” .
The study of its etymology shows us that the lexical components of this term are the following: the Latin verb horrere and the noun sonus , which can be understood as "to make one's hair stand on end" and "sound", respectively. Horror also derives from horrere . Two other words that contain this last component are unison and dulcison .
The concept can be used to refer to an actual sound or used symbolically. Suppose there is a loud explosion , with a great roar followed by echoes of broken glass and heavy objects falling. It can be said that such noises are horrifying because whoever hears them feels frightened or worried about sensing or assuming the inherent damage.
Horrible, however, can also be something abstract or allegorical . Let us take the case of an essayist who reflects on various current realities. The writer lists the poverty in which millions of people live, gender violence, child malnutrition, inequality and other problems. By way of conclusion, this intellectual states that we live in a horrible world . As can be seen, he does not refer to a sound , but to negative issues that can be perceived when analyzing different data or variables. Thus, it can be indicated that there is a horrible reality , a horrible situation , a horrible panorama , etc.
Having said all this, we can go on to list a series of synonyms that are very useful to replace this adjective in a long text or in speech, to avoid redundancy. Let's look at some of them below: deafening, thunderous, sonorous, resounding, apocalyptic, impressive, hallucinating, terrible , horrible, horrendous and maddening . As we can see, all these terms have negative connotations, whether or not they refer to a sound.
Precisely, as we indicated in the example of the essayist, any extremely negative situation, which causes sensations that are difficult to bear, can be described using the word horrísono . After all, there are also common cases of sentences in which we attribute material qualities to immaterial situations and vice versa, as when we say «a task that is too heavy» .
Horrible sounds are accompanied by a frightening, horrifying sound. The situations described above, such as gender violence and child malnutrition, also cause these and other terrible sensations in those who observe them. Furthermore, let us not forget that we often establish a connection between problems and “ noise ”: “I can’t go on living among so much noise, I need some air to put my thoughts in order.”
In this example there is more than one figure: the noise symbolizes problems , probably related to living with the rest of the people in the house; the air is a new space in which the speaker wishes to be alone, without the negative influence of others; organizing his ideas is not a material action, but rather represents the possibility of moving towards his own objectives, which he probably lost sight of because of his discomfort.
Similarly, we can say that a reality is " overwhelming " or that a relationship is "stifling," even if they do not cause the physical results to which these adjectives may refer.