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penny dreadful

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noun, plural penny dreadfuls.Chiefly British.
a cheap, sensational novel of adventure, crime, or violence; dime novel.
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Origin of penny dreadful

First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use penny dreadful in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for penny dreadful

penny-dreadful

noun plural -fuls
British informal a cheap, often lurid or sensational book or magazine
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
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