different between intolerable vs dreadful

English

Alternative forms

• untolerable (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French intolerable, from Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?t?l???bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?t?l???bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?tol?er?able

Adjective

intolerable (comparative more intolerable, superlative most intolerable)

1. not tolerable; not capable of being borne or endured

   Synonyms: insufferable, insupportable, unbearable

2. extremely offensive or insulting.
   • 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 4

     It is an intolerable sound that sets spoons tinkling in saucers and windowpanes vibrating.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "intolerable" is often applied: cruelty, burden, situation, condition, pain, heat, position, life, state, suffering, evil, risk, insult, hardship, agony, behavior, affront, insolence, stress, consequence, people.

Derived terms

Translations

References

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

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /in.to.l???a.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /in.tu.l???a.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /in.to.le??a.ble/

Adjective

intolerable (masculine and feminine plural intolerables)

1. intolerable

   Synonym: insuportable

   Antonym: tolerable

Derived terms

• intolerablement

Related terms

• intolerabilitat

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin intoler?bilis. Synchronically, in- +? tolerable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /intole??able/, [?n?.t?o.le??a.??le]

Adjective

intolerable (plural intolerables)

1. intolerable

   Synonym: insoportable

   Antonym: tolerable

Related terms

• intolerabilidad

Further reading

• “intolerable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

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.