dreadful

adjective
UK: /ˈdred.fəl/
US: /ˈdred.fəl/

  1. Extremely bad or unpleasant.

    1. The food was dreadful.
    2. The weather was dreadful, so we stayed inside all day because of the dreadful rain.

  2. Causing great fear or terror.

    1. The accident was dreadful.
    2. The dreadful silence after the announcement was almost unbearable for all.

Synonyms

atrocious terrible frightful horrible awful
dreadful adverb

  1. Very badly or unpleasantly.

    1. I played dreadful today.
    2. She sang dreadful and ruined the whole concert, people left because she sang dreadful.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "dreadful" in English means: Extremely bad or unpleasant., Causing great fear or terror..

The phonetic transcription of "dreadful" is /ˈdred.fəl/ in British English and /ˈdred.fəl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "dreadful": atrocious, terrible, frightful, horrible, awful.

Example usage of "dreadful": "The food was dreadful.". More examples on the page.