frightfully
Britishadverb
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.
"He had black crew-cut hair and National Health glasses and was frightfully shy and very poor... I started selling the odd drawing on his behalf for seven or eight pounds."
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Perhaps one could argue that this kind of frightfully subdued blockbuster is a result of audiences being confused about what they want.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025
And it is fantasy to try to divorce sports from the times we live in and the events that unfold, sometimes frightfully, beyond the comfortable confines of the stadium and arena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2025
"All the other people in the class were frightfully posh and they were all shrieking with laughter," Dame Sheila recalled.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2024
“It sounds frightfully close. Perhaps Fredrick has ordered a roast suckling for dinner in honor of our visit.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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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.