ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dreadful

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈdɹɛdfəɫ// UK //dɹˈɛdfəl// dread·ful Archaic Informal

adj. extremely bad, low quality, or unpleasant. You use this to describe something that makes you feel very unhappy or disappointed.

adj. extremely disagreeable, shocking, or of very poor quality. Often used as an intensifier to express strong disapproval or physical discomfort.


SIMPLE

The weather today is absolutely dreadful.

CONTEXTUAL

We had a dreadful experience at the hotel because the room was dirty and loud.

COMPLEX

The critic described the performance as a dreadful waste of talent, citing the poor script and uninspired direction as the primary failures.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful), equivalent to dread + -ful.

Usage

Commonly modified by intensifiers like 'absolutely' or 'simply'; often precedes nouns like 'weather', 'mistake', or 'news'.

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