dreadful
/ˈdɹɛd.fl̩/ adjective, adverb, noun
Forms dreadfuls dreadfull dredful
- adjective Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
- adjective (hyperbolic) Unpleasant, awful, very bad (also used as an intensifier).
- adjective (obsolete) Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
- adjective Scared, afraid, frightened.
- adjective Timid, easily frightened.
- adjective Reverential, full of pious awe.
- adverb (informal) Dreadfully.
- noun A shocker: a report of a crime written in a provokingly lurid style.
- noun A journal or broadsheet printing such reports.
- noun A shocking or sensational crime.
Synonyms
frightening bad awful dire direful dread dreaded fearful fearsome horrendous horrific terrible atrocious abominable painful unspeakable
Etymology
From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful). By surface analysis, dread + -ful.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dreadful”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details