different between blighting vs dreadful
blighting
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?bla?t??/
Verb
blighting
- present participle of blight
Noun
blighting (plural blightings)
- The act by which something is blighted.
- 1897, Mark Twain, Following the Equator
- They showed signs of the blightings and blastings of time, in their outward aspect, but they were young within; young and cheerful, and ready to talk […]
- 1897, Mark Twain, Following the Equator
blighting From the web:
- what is the meaning of blighting
- what does blighted mean
- what are blighting influences
- what does lighting mean
- what does blighting influences mean
- what do alighting mean
dreadful
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)
- Full of something causing dread, whether
- 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..."
- 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23:
- (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.
- 1682, T. Creech's translation of Lucretius, De Natura Rerum, Book II, 52:
- (obsolete) Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
- Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
- (obsolete) Full of dread, whether
- Scared, afraid, frightened.
- Timid, easily frightened.
- Reverential, full of pious awe.
Adverb
dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)
- (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)
- A shocker: a report of a crime written in a provokingly lurid style.
- A journal or broadsheet printing such reports.
- A shocking or sensational crime.
Derived terms
- penny dreadful
Further reading
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
dreadful From the web:
- what dreadful means
- what dreadful situation is knox referring to
- what dreadful dole is here
- what dreadful oracle was cited in the story
- what does dreadful mean
- what is meant by dreadful
Share
Tweet
+1
Share
Pin
Like
Send
Share
you may also like
- blighting vs dreadful
- sublime vs imperial
- pain vs heartbreak
- believe vs guess
- mar vs blur
- sight vs abnormality
- agony vs deterioration
- juvenile vs unfledged
- shortage vs exhaustion
- entirely vs terribly
- pretty vs congenial
- measurements vs magnitude
- dialogue vs consideration
- loathsome vs ville
- ticket vs identification
- sexless vs impotent
- reconciling vs pacifying
- amatory vs devoted
- limit vs march
- searing vs miserable