annus horribilis

English

Etymology

From the Latin annus (“year”) + horribilis (“of horrors”), on the model of annus mirabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈænəs həˈɹɪbɪlɪs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

annus horribilis (plural anni horribiles)

1. (often italicized) A horrible year
   • 1900 February 22, “Year One of the Empire”, in The Nation‎^[1], page 105:

     It is now a full year since the treaty with Spain was ratified, and the ignoble and bloody war in the Philippines began — a true annus horribilis.

   • 1936, John T. Whitaker, And Fear Came‎^[2], page 208:

     As the year 1934, an annus horribilis of political murder and bankrupt statesmanship, drew toward a close, Europe had the jitters.

   • 2008 December 23, Justin McCurry, Mark Milner, “Sales slump puts Toyota on track for first loss in 70 years”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     "Toyota will undoubtedly be looking forward to the end of this financial year, which promised so much, yet has become an annus horribilis," said Ian Fletcher.

   • 2022 December 28, Christian Wolmar, “Annus horribilus must mark a turning point for our railway”, in RAIL, number 973, page 44:

     This year, to borrow a timely phrase from our late Queen Elizabeth II, has been the annus horribilus for the railways. Just as she thought that 1992 sparked a possibly existential crisis for the monarchy, many in the rail industry are equally worried about the railways' very future.

Usage notes

• Often associated specifically with Queen Elizabeth II, who used the phrase in referring to her family's difficulties in 1992.

Related terms

• annus mirabilis

Translations

a horrible year

• Dutch: rampjaar (nl) n
• Portuguese: annus horribilis m

See also

• annus horribilis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Portuguese

Noun

annus horribilis m (uncountable)

1. (often italicized) annus horribilis (a horrible year)

Spanish

Noun

annus horribilis m (plural annus horribilis)

1. annus horribilis

Further reading

• “annus horribilis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10