different between dreadful vs ghastly
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.
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ghastly
English
Etymology
From a conflation of a derivation of Old English g?stan (“to torment, frighten”) with the suffix -lic, and ghostly (which was also spelt "gastlich" in Middle English). Equivalent to ghast/gast + -ly. Spelling with 'gh' developed 16th century due to the conflation.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /????s(t).li/
- (US) IPA(key): /??æs(t).li/
Adjective
ghastly (comparative ghastlier, superlative ghastliest)
- Like a ghost in appearance; death-like; pale; pallid; dismal.
- 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- Each turned his face with a ghastly pang.
- 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- Horrifyingly shocking.
- Extremely bad.
Synonyms
- (sickly pale): See also Thesaurus:pallid
- (horrifyingly shocking): lurid
Translations
Adverb
ghastly (not comparable)
- In a ghastly manner.
- 1921, William Dudley Pelley, The Fog: A Novel, page 196:
- Johnathan's lips moved ghastly before his voice would come. "So I'm crazy, am I? And if I choose to murder you, what would you do?"
- 1921, William Dudley Pelley, The Fog: A Novel, page 196:
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