Definition of dreadful adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

dreadful

adjective

/ˈdredfl/

(especially British English)

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very bad or unpleasant
- What dreadful weather!
- What a dreadful thing to say!
- It's dreadful the way they treat their staff.
- How dreadful!
- Jane looked dreadful (= looked ill or tired).
Synonyms terrible
terribleawful ▪ horrible ▪ dreadful ▪ vile ▪ horrendousThese words all describe something that is very unpleasant.
terrible very bad or unpleasant; making you feel unhappy, frightened, upset, ill, guilty or disapproving:
What terrible news!
That’s a terrible thing to say!
awful (rather informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that makes you feel depressed, ill, guilty or disapproving:
That’s an awful colour.
The weather last summer was awful.
horrible (rather informal) very unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like:
The coffee tasted horrible.
dreadful (especially British English, rather informal) very bad or unpleasant; used to describe something that you do not like or that you disapprove of:
What dreadful weather!
vile (informal) extremely bad or unpleasant:
There was a vile smell coming from the room.
He was in a vile mood.
horrendous (rather informal) extremely unpleasant and unacceptable:
The traffic around the city was horrendous.
Patterns
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful for somebody
- a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile thing
- a(n) terrible/awful/horrible/vile smell
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile/horrendous conditions
- terrible/awful/horrible/dreadful/vile weather
- terrible/awful/dreadful news
Extra Examples
- It must have been dreadful for you!
- To be honest, her singing was quite dreadful.
- a truly dreadful hat
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- really
- absolutely
- quite
- …
preposition
- for
See full entry
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Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
[only before noun] used to emphasize how bad something is synonym terrible
- He’s a dreadful snob.
- She's making a dreadful mess of things.
- I'm afraid there's been a dreadful mistake.
[usually before noun] causing fear, pain or difficulty synonym terrible
- a dreadful accident
- They suffered dreadful injuries.
Topics Feelingsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- really
- absolutely
- quite
- …
preposition
- for
See full entry

See dreadful in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Check pronunciation: dreadful

Nearby words

sunflower

noun

From the Topic

Plants and trees

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