dreadful

English

Alternative forms

• dreadfull (archaic)
• dredful (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English dredful, dredeful, equivalent to dread +‎ -ful.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA: /ˈdɹɛd.fʊl/

Adjective

dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)

1. Causing dread; bad.
   • 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, BBC Sport:

     After a dreadful performance in the opening 45 minutes, they upped their game after the break and might have taken at least a point from the match.

   • 1900, L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23

     "My greatest wish now," she added, "is to get back to Kansas, for Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning; and unless the crops are better this year than they were last, I am sure Uncle Henry cannot afford it."

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "dreadful" is often applied: day, night, state, news, time, secret, storm, mistake, accident, story, dream, havoc, truth, loss, act, life, thought, creature, curse, suffering.

Translations

causing dread

• Bulgarian: страшен (bg) (strašen), ужасен (bg) (užasen)
• Dutch: vervaarlijk (nl)
• French: affreux (fr), terrible (fr), douloureux (fr)
• German: furchtbar (de), schrecklich (de)

• Navajo: hóyééʼ
• Portuguese: horrível (pt), pavoroso (pt) m, terrível (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgriosail (gd)

Noun

dreadful (plural dreadfuls)

1. A shocking or sensational crime.
2. A shocking or sensational report of a crime.

Derived terms

• penny dreadful

References

• “dreadful” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).