scary

Compared meaning: very bad or frightening (adjective).

比较义项：可怕的、非常糟糕的（形容词）。

• horrible

  A strong, informal word for something extremely unpleasant or disgusting, like a bad smell or experience; unlike scary, it does not suggest fear, and unlike dire, it is common in casual, everyday complaints.

  语气随意、程度很强的词，形容气味或经历等极其令人不快、令人反感的事物；和 scary 不同，它不含“恐惧”之意；也不像 dire 那样正式，常用于日常抱怨。

  The smell in the basement was horrible, like something had died down there.

  地下室里的气味很 horrible，就像有什么东西死在那里一样。

• scary 本词

  Describes something that causes fear or fright, such as a story, animal, or situation; unlike horrible, terrible, or dire, it is not used for something merely bad in quality or seriousness.

  形容引发恐惧或惊吓的事物，比如故事、动物或某种情境；和 horrible、terrible、dire 不同，它不用来形容单纯质量差或情况严重的事物。

  The movie's ending was so scary that I couldn't sleep that night.

  这部电影的结局太 scary 了，那天晚上我都没睡着。

• dire

  A formal word for a situation that is extremely serious, urgent, or grave, often about danger, need, or consequences; it is not used for everyday annoyances like bad food or weather.

  较为正式的词，形容情况万分严重、危急，常用于危险、需求或后果；不用来形容食物、天气等日常琐碎的不快。

  Doctors warned that his condition was dire and he needed surgery immediately.

  医生警告说他的病情很 dire，需要立即做手术。

• terrible

  A very common, general word for something extremely bad; it can also describe someone's poor skill at an activity ('terrible at cooking'), a casual use that horrible does not share as naturally.

  非常常用的通用词，形容极其糟糕的事物；也可以形容某人在某件事上做得很差（如“terrible at cooking”，意为不擅长做饭），这种口语用法不如 horrible 那样自然。

  She's terrible at parallel parking and always hits the curb.

  她在侧方停车方面很 terrible，总是会撞到路缘。

Horrible, scary, dire and terrible can mean very bad, but focus differs. Horrible describes something unpleasant, like a bad smell. Scary describes something that causes fear. Dire is formal, for a serious, urgent situation. Terrible is common, and can also mean poor at a skill.

这几个词都能表示“很糟糕”或“可怕”，但侧重不同：horrible 和 terrible 多用于日常抱怨，泛指令人不快或质量很差的事物；dire 语气更正式，专指情况万分严重、危急；scary 则专指引发恐惧的事物。这里不涉及 terrible 表示“在某方面很差、不擅长”的引申用法。