The meaning of DREADFUL is inspiring dread : causing great and oppressive fear. How to use dreadful in a sentence.

DREADFUL definition: 1. causing fear, shock, or suffering: 2. of very low quality or very unpleasant: 3. used to…. Learn more.

If you say that something is dreadful, you mean that it is very bad or unpleasant, or very poor in quality. They told us the dreadful news. My financial situation is dreadful.

1. causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible: a dreadful storm. 2. inspiring awe or reverence. 3. extremely bad, unpleasant, or ugly: a dreadful scandal.

Definition of dreadful adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

2 days ago · Adjective dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful) Full of something causing dread, whether Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.

There are seven meanings listed in OED's entry for the word dreadful, three of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025 dread•ful /ˈdrɛdfəl/ adj. causing great dread, fear, or terror: a dreadful storm. extremely bad, unpleasant, or offensive: a …

DREADFUL definition: causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible. See examples of dreadful used in a sentence.

dreadful definition: very bad or unpleasant. Check meanings, examples, usage tips, pronunciation, domains, and related words. Discover expressions like "penny dreadful".