Learn Arabic › A2 › هَوْل
هَوْل
terror /ˈhawl/
nounA2#1021 most common
Also: horror, dread, fright
Example sentences
يَا لَهُ مِنْ هَوْلٍ!
What a horror!
شَعَرْتُ بِالهَوْلِ عِنْدَمَا سَمِعْتُ الخَبَرَ.
I felt terror when I heard the news.
أَصَابَنِي هَوْلٌ شَدِيدٌ مِنْ مَنْظَرِ الحَادِثِ.
A great terror struck me at the sight of the accident.
لَا يُمْكِنُ وَصْفُ هَوْلِ الحَرْبِ بِالكَلِمَاتِ.
The horror of war cannot be described in words.
وَقَفَ النَّاسُ مَذْهُولِينَ أَمَامَ هَوْلِ الكَارِثَةِ الَّتِي ضَرَبَتِ المَدِينَةَ.
People stood stunned before the horror of the catastrophe that struck the city.
تَتَحَدَّثُ النُّصُوصُ الدِّينِيَّةُ عَنْ أَهْوَالِ يَوْمِ القِيَامَةِ الَّتِي تَشِيبُ لَهَا الوِلْدَانُ.
Religious texts speak of the horrors of the Day of Judgment that turn children's hair grey.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | هَوْلٌ | أَهْوَالٌ |
| Genitive | هَوْلٍ | أَهْوَالٍ |
| Accusative | هَوْلًا | أَهْوَالًا |
| Vocative | يَا هَوْلُ | يَا أَهْوَالُ |
Word family
هَالَto terrify, to awe
هَائِلtremendous, terrible
مَهُولfrightening, dreadful
أَهْوَالhorrors, terrors
تَهْوِيلexaggeration, intimidation
Etymology
هَوْل comes from the Arabic triliteral root ه-و-ل (h-w-l), which carries the sense of frightening or awe-inspiring. The noun follows the فَعْل (faʿl) pattern and names the terror itself. The same root gives the verb هَالَ, to terrify, and the adjective هَائِل, tremendous. The Great Sphinx of Giza is known in Arabic as أبو الهول, the Father of Terror.
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