in a way that is extremely ugly, disgusting, or offensive to look at or experience.
From 'hideous' (from Old French 'hideus,' possibly from 'hide' meaning fear or dread), combined with the adverb suffix '-ly.' The original meaning was something that inspired fear or horror.
The word 'hideous' might come from the same root as 'hide' because terrifying things made people hide or want to hide them—language captured the instinct to look away!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.