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Synonyms

dreadfully

American  
[dred-fuh-lee] / ˈdrɛd fə li /

adverb

  1. in a dreadful way.

    The pain has increased dreadfully.

  2. very; extremely.

    Sorry to be so dreadfully late.
dreadfully British  
/ ˈdrɛdfʊlɪ /

adverb

  1. in a shocking, or disagreeable manner

  2. (intensifier)

    you're dreadfully kind
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dreadfully

1275–1325; Middle English. See dreadful, -ly

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.

The bus lurched dreadfully as it started up but we were standing too close together to fall.

From Literature

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

"This is a dreadfully difficult, incredibly sad and utterly tragic case," the judge added.

From BBC

The movie was dreadfully dull, but she didn’t care.

From Literature

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

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.