Definitions for dreadful
ˈdrɛd fəldread·ful

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. awful, dire, direful, dread(a), dreaded, dreadful, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terribleadjective

   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. atrocious, abominable, awful, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakableadjective

   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. dreadfuladjective

   very unpleasant

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. dreadfulnoun

   A shocking or sensational crime.

2. dreadfulnoun

   A shocking or sensational report of a crime.

3. dreadfuladjective

   Causing dread; bad.

4. Etymology: From dredful, dredeful, equivalent to.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Dreadfulnoun

   Terrible; frightful; formidable.

   Etymology: dread and full.

   Thy love, still arm’d with fate,
   Is dreadful as thy hate. George Granville.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Dreadfuladjective

   full of dread or terror; fearful

2. Dreadfuladjective

   inspiring dread; impressing great fear; fearful; terrible; as, a dreadful storm

3. Dreadfuladjective

   inspiring awe or reverence; awful

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dreadful' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3528

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dreadful' in Adjectives Frequency: #777

How to pronounce dreadful?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dreadful in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dreadful in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dreadful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of dreadful in a Sentence

1. Elizabeth Bowen:

   It is in this unearthly first hour of spring twilight that earth's almost agonized livingness is most felt. This hour is so dreadful to some people that they hurry indoors and turn on the lights.

2. Jacqueline Job:

   Ignorance is a dangerous and dreadful disease.

3. Hendrik Willem van Loon:

   The world is in dreadful need of men who will assume the new leadership – who will have the courage of their own visions and who will recognise clearly that we are only at the beginning of the voyage, and have to learn an entirely new system of seamanship.

4. William Blake:

   What seems to be, is, to those to whom it seems to be, and is productive of the most dreadful consequences to those to whom it seems to be, even of torments, despair, eternal death.

5. Stephen Innes:

   After a dreadful December for risk markets, crude oil continues to catch a positive vibe.

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