dreadfully
Americanadverb
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in a dreadful way.
The pain has increased dreadfully.
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very; extremely.
Sorry to be so dreadfully late.
adverb
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in a shocking, or disagreeable manner
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(intensifier)
you're dreadfully kind
Etymology
Origin of dreadfully
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And this was a consummate display, cool and measured with a ruthless edge, even if it came against this dreadfully poor Spurs side.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
So music breaks down barriers, as characters keep telling us in a dreadfully blunt script: “This isn’t the mill, this is the choral. And we’re all equal here.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
“When you get such interesting and amusing film roles, it doesn’t seem dreadfully exciting to be in the 257th revival of ‘The Rivals,’” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
United started dreadfully and went into a rapid decline, somehow surviving until half-time as Spurs carved them open on countless occasions but could not add a second.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2024
Swiftly, Buckley crossed the room and shook hands with Mr. Dalton, and, turning to Mrs. Dalton, said: “I’m dreadfully sorry, madam.”
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
