terrible

terrible
[[t]te̱rɪb(ə)l[/t]]
♦♦
1) ADJ-GRADED A terrible experience or situation is very serious or very unpleasant.

Tens of thousands more suffered terrible injuries in the world's worst industrial disaster...

I often have the most terrible nightmares...

Prison life, he told me, was terrible.

Syn:
Derived words:
terribly ADV-GRADED ADV after v

My son has suffered terribly. He has lost his best friend.

2) ADJ-GRADED: feel/look ADJ If you feel terrible, you feel extremely ill or unhappy. If you tell someone that they look terrible, you mean that they look as if they are extremely ill or unhappy.

He did feel terrible at the time but seems to be fine now...

Are you all right? You look terrible. Are you sick?

Syn:
3) ADJ-GRADED If something is terrible, it is very bad or of very poor quality.

She admits her French is terrible.

Syn:
4) ADJ: ADJ n (emphasis) You use terrible to emphasize the great extent or degree of something.

I was a terrible fool, you know. I remember that now...

Her death is a terrible waste.

Derived words:
terribly ADV-GRADED usu ADV adj

I'm terribly sorry to bother you at this hour...

I suffered terribly when she died.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • terrible — [ teribl ] adj. • 1160; lat. terribilis 1 ♦ (Choses) Qui inspire de la terreur (1o), qui amène ou peut amener de grands malheurs. ⇒ effrayant, redoutable, terrifiant. Cauchemar terrible. ⇒ affreux (1o). Une terrible maladie. « Un mal soudain et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • terrible — adjetivo 1. (antepuesto / pospuesto) Que produce terror, o que puede acarrear grandes males: Anoche tuve una terrible pesadilla. Éste ha sido un año terrible para la economía española. El cáncer es una terrible enfermedad. Sinónimo: espantoso,… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • terrible — terrible, terribly have gone the way of other words of this type, such as awful / awfully, dreadful / dreadfully, frightful / frightfully; that is, terrible intensifies something by definition bad (a terrible mistake) and terribly intensifies… …   Modern English usage

  • terrible — Terrible. adj. de t. g. Qui donne de la terreur. Les jugements de Dieu sont terribles. l heure de la mort est terrible. Il signifie fig. Estonnant, extraordinaire, tant en bonne qu en mauvaise part. Il a une terrible memoire, il retient tout ce… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Terrible — Ter ri*ble, a. [F., fr. L. terribilis, fr. terrere to frighten. See {Terror}.] 1. Adapted or likely to excite terror, awe, or dread; dreadful; formidable. [1913 Webster] Prudent in peace, and terrible in war. Prior. [1913 Webster] Thou shalt not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Terrible — may refer to:*The French ship Le Terrible of the French Navy, of which there have been sixteen. *Eight ships of the English Royal Navy named HMS Terrible since 1694 …   Wikipedia

  • Terrible — bezeichnet mehrere Schiffe dieses Namens, siehe HMS Terrible als Kampfname den Boxer Tim Witherspoon Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • terrible — early 15c., causing terror, frightful, from O.Fr. terrible (12c.), from L. terribilis frightful, from terrere fill with fear, from PIE root *tres to tremble (Cf. Skt. trasati trembles, Avestan tarshta feared, revered, Gk. treëin to tremble, Lith …   Etymology dictionary

  • terrible — index deplorable, dire, formidable, gross (flagrant), heinous, lamentable, loathsome, nefarious …   Law dictionary

  • terrible — terrific, frightful, dreadful, *fearful, awful, horrible, horrific, shocking, appalling Analogous words: frightening, alarming, startling (see FRIGHTEN): agitating, upsetting, disturbing, perturbing (see DISCOMPOSE) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • terrible — [adj] bad, horrible abhorrent, appalling, atrocious, awe inspiring, awesome, awful, beastly, dangerous, desperate, dire, disastrous, disturbing, dread, dreaded, dreadful, extreme, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, harrowing, hateful, hideous …   New thesaurus

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