dreadful en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈdɹɛd.fl̩/
Etymology
From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful). By surface analysis, dread + -ful.
Meanings
-
Full of something causing dread, whether ▸ Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
"...Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning..."
1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:
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(excessive) Full of something causing dread, whether ▸ Unpleasant, awful, very bad (also used as an intensifier).
[I]ndeed I began ſincerely to hate my ſelf for a Dog, a VVretch that had been a Thief, and a Murtherer; […] I vvent about vvith my Heart full of theſe Thoughts, little better than a diſtracted Fellovv; in ſhort, running headlong into the dreadfulleſt Deſpair, and premeditated nothing but hovv to rid my ſelf out of the VVorld; […] nothing lay upon my Mind for ſeveral Days, but to ſhoot my ſelf into the Head vvith my Piſtol.
1720, [Daniel Defoe], The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, of the Famous Captain Singleton, London: […] J[ohn] Brotherton, […], J[ohn] Graves […], A[nne] Dodd, […], and T[homas] Warner, […], →OCLC, page 331:After a dreadful performance in the opening 45 minutes, they upped their game after the break...
2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1-2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:Here some... Look dreadful gay in their own sparkling blood.
1682, T. Creech's translation of Lucretius, De Natura Rerum, Book II, 52
- (obsolete) Full of something causing dread, whether ▸ Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
-
(obsolete) Full of dread, whether ▸ Scared, afraid, frightened.
Shame to the slothful and woe to the weak one. Death to the dreadful who turn to flee. Blood to the tearing, the talon’d, the beaked one. Timor Mortis are We.
1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter VIII, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, book I (The Sword in the Stone):
- (obsolete) Full of dread, whether ▸ Timid, easily frightened.
- (obsolete) Full of dread, whether ▸ Reverential, full of pious awe.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dredful | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| more dreadful | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| dreadfull | alternative, archaic | lexicographic | |
| most dreadful | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Translations (68)
fr terrible (causing dread) · nv hóyééʼ (causing dread) · hak 可畏 (causing dread) · pdt jräsich (causing dread) · gl espantoso (causing dread) · oc terrible (causing dread) · enm dredful (causing dread) · gd sgriosail (causing dread) · mi maruwehi (causing dread) · gl horríbel (causing dread) · oc òrre (causing dread) · ru ужасный (causing dread) · pt terrível (causing dread) · es espavorido (full of dread) · sa भीष्म (causing dread) · da forfærdelig (causing dread) · mi whakapāwerawera (causing dread) · mi whakarihariha (causing dread) · es espantoso (causing dread) · el τρομερός (causing dread) · ga uafásach (causing dread) · nl vervaarlijk (causing dread) · es pavorido (full of dread) · bg страшен (causing dread) · es apavorado (full of dread) · es pavoroso (causing dread) · es empavorecido (full of dread) · fr affreux (causing dread) · kk қорқынышты (causing dread) · es despavorido (full of dread) · oc afrós (causing dread) · ru кошмарный (causing dread) · tr dehşet verici (causing dread) · ru страшный (causing dread) · th น่ากลัว (causing dread) · de schrecklich (causing dread) · cmn 可畏 (causing dread) · pt pavoroso (causing dread) · es empavoreciente (causing dread) · el φοβερός (causing dread) · it orribile (causing dread) · it terribile (causing dread) · bg ужасен (causing dread) · ga millteanach (causing dread) · tr ürkünç (causing dread) · sa घोर (causing dread) · yue 可畏 (causing dread) · fa افتضاح (causing dread) · fr redoutable (causing dread) · ar فظيع (causing dread) · pt horrível (causing dread) · nan-hbl 可畏 (causing dread) · sga úathmar (causing dread) · pt temível (causing dread) · da rædsom (causing dread) · da skrækkelig (causing dread) · th น่าหวาดพะวง (causing dread) · pdt schrakjlich (causing dread) · tr ürkütücü (causing dread) · es empavorecedor (causing dread) · pt amedrontador (causing dread) · el τρομακτικός (causing dread) · ga ainnis (causing dread) · it spaventoso (causing dread) · de furchtbar (causing dread) · grc αἰνός (causing dread) · tr dehşetli (causing dread) · tr korkunç (causing dread)