terribly
Americanadverb
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in a terrible manner
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(intensifier)
you're terribly kind
Usage
What does terribly mean? Terribly means in a way that’s terrible—awfully, horribly, or extremely bad. The adjective terrible has a few different meanings, but the adverb form terribly is usually based on its sense meaning extremely bad or horrible, as in I did terribly on that test or The children behaved terribly this morning. Terribly is also commonly used to mean very or extremely, as in We’re terribly sorry. When used this way, it’s an intensifier—a word used to strengthen or emphasize the word it modifies. This sense of the word is commonly used in negative constructions, such as not terribly exciting, which means the same thing as not very exciting. Example: I’m not terribly interested in going on a trip with Jeff, especially since I’ve heard he drives terribly.
Etymology
Origin of terribly
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.
His ongoing tour, Terribly Funny, is sold out at most venues around the UK.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2022
“The story just kind of stopped, you know? Terribly tragic, definitely. None of us expected it. Everybody that knows him was like ‘He was doing so good.
From Washington Times • Jan. 18, 2020
Terribly nearsighted, I had not been able to afford eyeglasses since I left Oregon six months earlier.
From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2018
Terribly ill throughout the production, and accompanied by his wife and children – who may have known their time with him was limited – he gave everything he had to the Bison role.
From The Guardian • Jul. 16, 2018
Terribly slowly, stiffly, heavily, a hinged square of floor lifted: it was a trapdoor.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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.
