different between boring vs dreadful

English

Etymology

From Middle English boryng (“making a hole”); equivalent to bore +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?????/
• Rhymes: -?????

Noun

boring (plural borings)

1. A pit or hole which has been bored.
   • 1992, J. Patrick Powers, Construction dewatering: new methods and applications, p. 191:

     It is common in urban areas that a great many borings exist from prior construction work.

2. Fragments thrown up when something is bored or drilled.
3. Any organism that bores into a hard surface

Verb

boring

1. present participle of bore

Derived terms

• tunnel boring machine

Adjective

boring (comparative more boring, superlative most boring)

1. Causing boredom or tiredness; making you to feel tired and impatient.

   What a boring film that was! I almost fell asleep.

2. Used, or designed to be used, to drill holes.

   boring equipment

3. Capable of penetrating; piercing.

Synonyms

• dull, mind-numbing (colloquial), tedious
• See also Thesaurus:boring

Derived terms

• boringly
• boringness

Related terms

• bore
• bored
• boredom

Translations

Anagrams

• orbing, robing

Danish

Etymology

From the verb bore (“drill”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?b?o???e?]

Noun

boring c (singular definite boringen, plural indefinite boringer)

1. drill hole
2. drilling

Inflection

Dutch

Etymology

From boren +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bo?.r??/
• (Belgium)
• Hyphenation: bo?ring
• Rhymes: -o?r??

Noun

boring f (plural boringen, diminutive borinkje n)

1. drilling

   offshoreboring — offshore drilling

2. bore of a car's cylinder or canon

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.