dreadful

adjective

ˈdred-fəl How to pronounce dreadful (audio)
Definition of dreadfulnext
1
as in terrifying
causing fear a dreadful hurricane

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment a dreadful performance of a beautiful piece of music

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent dreadful news of a crime wave in the neighborhood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect the dreadful heat of the desert

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in sheer
having no exceptions or restrictions made a dreadful mess of his first marriage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dreadful Some of the best scenes happen near the end when Maddie’s dreadful, piece-of-work mom (played to the nines by Kristen Johnston) sallies her way in to create more family dysfunction in her wake. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 24 June 2026 Just when a dreadful day was approaching a merciful end, the chants from the remaining crowd at Citi Field poked fun at the New York Mets’ mess in a way boos cannot match with ridicule. — Will Sammon, New York Times, 25 June 2026 Ryan McMahon provided the team’s only run with a third-inning homer, while Camilo Doval, who has been dreadful against lefties, served up a first-pitch grand slam to former Yankee Andrew Benintendi in the eighth inning. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 19 June 2026 World Cup qualifying wins over Argentina and Brazil in 2023 were followed by a dreadful stretch with just one win in 12 games between summer of 2024 and summer of 2025. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 14 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for dreadful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreadful
  1. terrifying
  2. awful
  3. horrific
  4. intense
  5. sheer
  6. horrible
  7. ugly
  8. gruesome
Adjective
  • That year, the Potomac River turned violent, as intense, heavy rains pushed the water to a terrifying, near-record flood level of 60,000 cubic feet per second.
    — Jasmine Baehr , Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • Just like waiting for the release of the bull, the ride vehicle will pause for three seconds before a terrifying 285-foot drop.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • One year Pippa Middleton faced the awful shame of having to sit in a normal seat after showing up late.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 4 July 2026
  • Sugar is at the forensic lab with the corpse of a man who looks an awful lot like Ji Moon but isn’t Ji Moon (courtesy of Shea Whigham as Tom Flybjerg).
    — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Chicago city officials have never forgotten the lessons of the historic and horrific heat wave of July 1995, which killed 739 people in the Chicago area.
    — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 29 June 2026
  • Many of these countries are well known for horrific human rights abuses, lack of justice and abysmal detention conditions.
    — Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
Definition of horrific
Adjective
  • Indie Shakes managing director David Melville distills his production around scenes of intense conflict.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • As the planet warms, extreme heat events are becoming more common, intense and long-lasting.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 1 July 2026
Definition of intense
Adjective
  • The sleeveless gown featured a semi-sheer corset bodice with a curtain of lace foliage that cascaded down past the thigh-high slit, forming an elegant silhouette.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 5 July 2026
  • Nonetheless, some 120,000 Mint Juleps are consumed across two sunny days at Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby, proving that some cocktails can become refreshing daytime summer sippers just by sheer force of will, and a little crushed ice.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 4 July 2026
Definition of sheer
Adjective
  • And obviously, slavery was a terrible thing, and that was horrible.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • Horton, who married Rickman in 2012 in a private ceremony after more than 40 years together, also told the outlet that the diagnosis had been a horrible shock to them both.
    — Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • Lasko’s teammate, Devin Taylor, was able to get up and field the rolling ball that split the two defenders, but Lasko stayed on the ground in what was a pretty ugly crash.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • His ability to perform a cesarean section — something Doc couldn't dream of — forces the town to reckon with an ugly part of their collective conscience.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • Chris Brown was found liable by a Los Angeles jury on Tuesday for $13 million in the gruesome case of a dog that mauled and disfigured his housekeeper at his home in 2020.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 1 July 2026
  • But as the days dragged on, headlines about power outages and water shortages took a back seat to a far more gruesome and horrific reality.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of gruesome

Browse Nearby Words

dreaded
dreadful
dreadfully
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dreadful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreadful. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on dreadful

Nglish: Translation of dreadful for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All