different between grotesque vs dreadful

English

Etymology

From Middle French grotesque (French grotesque), from Italian grottesco (“of a cave”), from grotta. Compare English grotto.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?????t?sk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??o??t?sk/

Adjective

grotesque (comparative grotesquer, superlative grotesquest)

1. Distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous.
2. Disgusting or otherwise viscerally revolting.
3. (typography) Sans serif.

Derived terms

• grody
• grotty
• guro, ero-guro

Translations

Noun

grotesque (countable and uncountable, plural grotesques)

2. A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms.
3. Anything grotesque.
4. (typography) A sans serif typeface.

Related terms

• grotesquely
• grotesqueness

Further reading

• Grotesque in the 1905 edition of the New International Encyclopedia.

French

Etymology

From Middle French grotesque, from Italian grottesco (“of a cave”), from grotta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???.t?sk/

Adjective

grotesque (plural grotesques)

1. farcical (ridiculous)
2. grotesque

Noun

grotesque m (plural grotesques)

1. grotesqueness

Further reading

• “grotesque” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Alternative forms

• crotesque

Etymology

From Italian grottesco.

Adjective

grotesque m or f (plural grotesques)

1. farcical (ridiculous)

Descendants

• ? English: grotesque
• French: grotesque

Noun

grotesque f (plural grotesques)

1. small cave
2. ornament

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (grotesque, supplement)

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.