different between dreadful vs dreadless
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
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dreadless
English
Etymology
From Middle English dredles, dredeles, equivalent to dread +? -less.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?d??dl?s/
Adjective
dreadless (comparative more dreadless, superlative most dreadless)
- Feeling no dread or fear; unafraid.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vi:
- So doubly is distrest twixt ioy and cares / The dreadlesse courage of this Elfin knight, / Hauing escapt so sad ensamples in his sight.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vi:
- (obsolete) Exempt from danger which causes dread; secure.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
- Safe in his dreadless den.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
Derived terms
- dreadlessness
Anagrams
- resaddles
dreadless From the web:
- what does dreadful mean
- dreadless meaning
- what does dreadless
- what does the word dreadful mean
- dreadful meaning
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