different between dreadful vs vile

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

From Old French vil, from Latin vilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /va?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l
• Homophone: vial

Adjective

vile (comparative viler or more vile, superlative vilest or most vile)

1. Morally low; base; despicable.
2. Causing physical or mental repulsion; horrid.

Synonyms

• (morally low): base, despicable, mean, ignoble

Derived terms

• vilify

Translations

Anagrams

• Levi, Viel, evil, live, veil, vlei

Albanian

Etymology

A formation from vjel (“to pluck, harvest”).

Noun

vile f (indefinite plural vile, definite singular vilja, definite plural vilet)

1. bunch of grape

Related terms

• vjel
• vjell

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?v?l?]

Noun

vile f

1. dative/locative singular of vila

Estonian

Etymology

From vilisema +? -e.

Noun

vile (genitive vile, partitive vilet)

1. whistle

Declension

French

Adjective

vile

1. feminine singular of vil

Italian

Etymology

From Latin v?lis (“cheap”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?vi.le/

Adjective

vile (plural vili)

1. cowardly, dastardly

   Synonyms: codardo, vigliacco

2. base, miserable, mean

   Synonym: miserabile

3. cheap, worthless, base

   Synonym: privo di valore

Noun

vile m or f (plural vili)

1. coward

   Synonyms: fifone, codardo

Derived terms

• avvilire
• svilire

Related terms

• vilmente
• viltà
• vilipendio

Anagrams

• levi, live, veli

Latin

Adjective

v?le

1. inflection of v?lis:
   1. nominative neuter singular
   2. accusative neuter singular
   3. vocative neuter singular

Old French

Alternative forms

• ville

Etymology

From Latin v?lla.

Noun

vile f (oblique plural viles, nominative singular vile, nominative plural viles)

1. town; city

Descendants

• French: ville

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *vidly (Russian ????? (víly), Czech vidle).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?île/
• Hyphenation: vi?le

Noun

v?le f (Cyrillic spelling ?????)

1. (plural only) pitchfork

Declension

References

• “vile” in Hrvatski jezi?ni portal

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *vidla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ì?l?/

Noun

víle f pl

1. pitchfork

Inflection

Further reading

• “vile”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Swahili

Pronunciation

Adjective

vile

1. Vi class inflected form and adverbial form of -le.

Venetian

Noun

vile

1. plural of vila