dreadful

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Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdɹɛd.fʊl/

Adjective

dreadful

1. Full of something causing dread, whether
   1. Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
      • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23:

        "...Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning..."

   2. (hyperbolic) Unpleasant, awful, very bad (also used as an intensifier).
      • 1682, T. Creech's translation of Lucretius, De Natura Rerum, Book II, 52:

        Here some... Look dreadful gay in their own sparkling blood.

   3. (obsolete) Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
2. (obsolete) Full of dread, whether
   1. Scared, afraid, frightened.
   2. Timid, easily frightened.
   3. Reverential, full of pious awe.

Adverb

dreadful

1. (informal) Dreadfully.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:frightening
• See Thesaurus:bad

Translations

• French: redoutable, affreux, terrible
• German: furchtbar, schrecklich
• Portuguese: horrível, pavoroso, terrível, temível, amedrontador
• Spanish: espantoso, espantosa

Noun

dreadful (plural dreadfuls)

1. A shocker: a report of a crime written in a provokingly lurid style.
2. A journal or broadsheet printing such reports.
3. A shocking or sensational crime.

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