dreadful
dread·ful
adjective
1.
causing fear or dread or terror
- “the awful war”
- “an awful risk”
- “dire news”
- “a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked”
- “the dread presence of the headmaster”
- “polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was”
- “a dreadful storm”
- “a fearful howling”
- “horrendous explosions shook the city”
- “a terrible curse”
2.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
- “atrocious taste”
- “abominable workmanship”
- “an awful voice”
- “dreadful manners”
- “a painful performance”
- “terrible handwriting”
- “an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room”
3.
very unpleasant
Origin
From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful). By surface analysis, dread + -ful.
Phrases
- penny dreadful
Related words
Word family
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.