different between dreadful vs repugnant

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.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French repugnant, borrowed from Latin repugnans, present participle of repugnare (“to oppose, to fight against”), from re- (“back, against”) + pugnare (“to fight”); see pugnacious.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???p??n?nt/
• Hyphenation: re?pug?nant

Adjective

repugnant (comparative more repugnant, superlative most repugnant)

1. Offensive or repulsive; arousing disgust or aversion.
2. (law) Opposed or in conflict.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "repugnant" is often applied: act, nature, behavior, practice, character, thing, crime.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• pregnaunt

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin repugn?ns, attested from 1803.

Adjective

repugnant (masculine and feminine plural repugnants)

1. repugnant, revolting

Related terms

• repugnància
• repugnar

Further reading

• “repugnant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “repugnant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “repugnant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

References

Latin

Verb

repugnant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of repugn?

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French repugnant.

Adjective

repugnant m (feminine singular repugnante, masculine plural repugnans, feminine plural repugnantes)

1. repugnant; repulsive

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin repugnans, repugnantem.

Adjective

repugnant m (oblique and nominative feminine singular repugnant or repugnante)

1. contradictory
2. opposing; adversary

Descendants

• ? English: repugnant
• Middle French: repugnant
  • French: répugnant

Romanian

Etymology

From French répugnant.

Adjective

repugnant m or n (feminine singular repugnant?, masculine plural repugnan?i, feminine and neuter plural repugnante)

1. repugnant

Declension