Dreadful — Dread ful, a. 1. Full of dread or terror; fearful. [Obs.] With dreadful heart. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. Inspiring dread; impressing great fear; fearful; terrible; as, a dreadful storm. Dreadful gloom. Milton. [1913 Webster] For all things are… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
dreadful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) extremely bad or serious. 2) used for emphasis: a dreadful flirt. DERIVATIVES dreadfully adverb … English terms dictionary
dreadful — index adverse (negative), bad (inferior), deplorable, detrimental, dire, disastrous, disreputable … Law dictionary
dreadful — early 13c., full of dread, from DREAD (Cf. dread) + FUL (Cf. ful). Meaning causing dread is from mid 13c.; weakened sense of very bad is from c.1700. Related: Dreadfully … Etymology dictionary
dreadful — horrible, horrific, appalling, *fearful, awful, frightful, terrible, terrific, shocking … New Dictionary of Synonyms
dreadful — [adj] horrible, frightening abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, beastly, creepy*, dire, distressing, fearful, formidable, frightful, frozen, ghastly, godawful*, grievous, grim, grody*, gross*, hideous, horrendous, horrific,… … New thesaurus
dreadful — [dred′fəl] adj. [ME dredeful] 1. inspiring dread; terrible or awesome 2. Informal very bad, offensive, disagreeable, etc. dreadfulness n … English World dictionary
dreadful — I. adjective Date: 13th century 1. a. inspiring dread ; causing great and oppressive fear < a dreadful storm > b. inspiring awe or reverence < the dreadful sublimity of the mountain peaks > 2. extremely bad, distasteful, unpleasant, or shocking … New Collegiate Dictionary
dreadful — adj. VERBS ▪ be, feel, look, smell, sound, taste ▪ Poor thing! You look absolutely dreadful! (= very ill) ADVERB ▪ … Collocations dictionary
dreadful — dreadfulness, n. /dred feuhl/, adj. 1. causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible: a dreadful storm. 2. inspiring awe or reverence. 3. extremely bad, unpleasant, or ugly: dreadful cooking; a dreadful hat. n. Brit. 4. See penny dreadful. 5. a… … Universalium
