different between bizarre vs dreadful

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bizarre (“odd, peculiar, bizarre, formerly headlong, angry”). Either from Basque bizar (“a beard”) (the notion being that bearded Spanish soldiers made a strange impression on the French), or from Italian bizzarro.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??z??(?)/, /b??z??(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /b??z??/, /b??z??/
• Homophone: bazaar (weak vowel merger)

Adjective

bizarre (comparative more bizarre or bizarrer, superlative most bizarre or bizarrest)

1. strangely unconventional in style or appearance.

Usage notes

• The compared forms with more and most are predominant. The alternative superlative bizarrest is fairly common, whereas the comparative bizarrer is very rare.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:strange

Translations

Further reading

• bizarre in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• bizarre in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Brazier, brazier

Danish

Adjective

bizarre

1. definite of bizar
2. plural of bizar

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

bizarre

1. Inflected form of bizar

French

Etymology

From Italian bizzarro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.za?/
• Rhymes: -a?

Adjective

bizarre (plural bizarres)

1. bizarre, odd

   Comme c'est bizarre !

2. peculiar, quaint

Synonyms

• baroque
• étrange
• original
• singulier

Related terms

• bizarrement
• bizarrerie

Further reading

• “bizarre” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• barriez

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

bizarre

1. inflection of bizarr:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Interlingua

Adjective

bizarre (comparative plus bizarre, superlative le plus bizarre)

1. bizarre

English

Alternative forms

• dreadfull
• dredful (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d??d.f?l/

Etymology

From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful), equivalent to dread +? -ful.

Adjective

dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)

1. Full of something causing dread, whether
   1. Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
      • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23:

        "...Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning..."

   2. (hyperbolic) Unpleasant, awful, very bad (also used as an intensifier).
      • 1682, T. Creech's translation of Lucretius, De Natura Rerum, Book II, 52:

        Here some... Look dreadful gay in their own sparkling blood.
   3. (obsolete) Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
2. (obsolete) Full of dread, whether
   1. Scared, afraid, frightened.
   2. Timid, easily frightened.
   3. Reverential, full of pious awe.

Adverb

dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)

1. (informal) Dreadfully.

Usage notes

The senses of "dreadful" synonymous with "afraid" similarly use the infinitive or the preposition "of": they were dreadful to build or the boy was dreadful of his majesty. These senses are, however, now obsolete.

When used as an intensifier, "dreadful" is actually a form of the adverb "dreadfully" and thus considered informal or vulgar.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:frightening
• See Thesaurus:bad

Derived terms

• dreadfully
• dreadfulness

Translations

Noun

dreadful (plural dreadfuls)

1. A shocker: a report of a crime written in a provokingly lurid style.
2. A journal or broadsheet printing such reports.
3. A shocking or sensational crime.

Derived terms

• penny dreadful

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.