dreadfully
Americanadverb
-
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.
"Martin O'Neill has been dreadfully let down by the Celtic board," Dykes told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Rebounding from dreadfully depressing injury news to knock out the NBA’s best rebounding team?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
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
Ned hald only to look at him to know that something was dreadfully wrong.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
