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dreadful
[dred-fuhl]
adjective
causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible.
a dreadful storm.
Synonyms: ,inspiring awe or reverence.
extremely bad, unpleasant, or ugly.
dreadful cooking; a dreadful hat.
noun
a periodical given to highly sensational matter.
dreadful
/ ˈɛʊ /
adjective
extremely disagreeable, shocking, or bad
what a dreadful play
(intensifier)
this is a dreadful waste of time
causing dread; terrifying
archaicinspiring awe
Other 51Թ Forms
- dreadfulness noun
- quasi-dreadful adjective
- quasi-dreadfully adverb
- ˈڳܱԱ noun
51Թ History and Origins
Example Sentences
The second Iceland goal was caused by dreadful work by the entire Scotland defence, culminating with Slicker failing to scramble the ball off his line after it ricocheted towards goal off Lewis Ferguson.
"I was horrified - the quality of it was dreadful."
Prior to this week's success, the expectancy was that Postecoglou would leave before next season; the Australian ultimately paying the price for a dreadful domestic season.
"I also pointed out the danger of engaging in sectarian actions. It was a dreadful incident and I said so at the time."
On sentencing, the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary, described it as "a particularly dreadful offence".
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Related 51Թs
When To Use
Dreadful most commonly means extremely bad, unpleasant, or ugly.Less commonly, it can also mean causing great fear or terror, which makes sense because dreadful is the adjective form of the noun dread, meaning fear.Dreadful can also be used as an intensifier (a word that makes the meaning of the word it modifies more intense) in much the same way that awful can, as in You took a dreadful long time getting time. In cases like this, neither awful nor dreadful mean bad, but they are typically used in negative situations as opposed to positive ones.Dreadful can also be used in a more specific way as a shortened form of the term penny dreadful, the name for inexpensive illustrated books featuring violent action that were popular in Britain during the mid- and late-1800s.Example: My throat hurts, my head’s pounding, I’ve got the chills—I feel absolutely dreadful.
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