different between terrible vs tawdry
terrible
English
Etymology
From Middle English terrible, from Old French, from Latin terribilis (“frightful”), from terre? (“I frighten, terrify, alarm; I deter by terror, scare (away)”). Compare terror, deter.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?t?.??.bl?/, /?t?.??.bl?/
- Homophone: tearable, in some accents
Adjective
terrible (comparative terribler or more terrible, superlative terriblest or most terrible)
- Dreadful; causing terror, alarm and fear; awesome
- Formidable, powerful.
- 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- […] and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a "true sea-dog," and "real old salt," and such-like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea.
- 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- Intense; extreme in degree or extent.
- Unpleasant; disagreeable.
- Very bad; lousy.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:frightening
Antonyms
- (very bad): excellent
Adverb
terrible (comparative more terrible, superlative most terrible)
- (colloquial, dialect) In a terrible way; to a terrible extent; terribly; awfully.
Related terms
Translations
Further reading
- terrible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- terrible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- treblier
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /t??ri.bl?/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /te?ri.ble/
Adjective
terrible (masculine and feminine plural terribles)
- terrible (causing fear)
- terrible (formidable, intense)
French
Etymology
From Latin terribilis
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t?.?ibl/
Adjective
terrible (plural terribles)
- (all senses) terrible
- (colloquial) great, excellent
Derived terms
- enfant terrible
Related terms
- terreur
- terriblement
- terrifier
Further reading
- “terrible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin terribilis. Cognate with English terrible.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /te?rible/, [t?e?ri.??le]
- Hyphenation: te?rri?ble
Adjective
terrible (plural terribles)
- terrible, awful, horrible (very bad)
- appalling (shocking, causing consternation)
- terrific (very great or intense)
Derived terms
- terribilísimo
- terriblemente
Related terms
- terror
Further reading
- “terrible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
terrible From the web:
- what terrible thing it was
- what terrible mean
- when terrible things happen
- when something terrible happens
- what is the terrible awful thing in the help
tawdry
English
Etymology
Shortened from tawdry lace; originally a corruption of Saint Audrey lace (from Old English Æþelþryþ). The lace necklaces sold to pilgrims to Saint Audrey fell out of fashion in the 17th century, and so tawdry was reinterpreted as meaning “cheap” or “vulgar”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?t??d?i/
Noun
tawdry (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Tawdry lace. [17th c.]
- (obsolete) Anything gaudy and cheap; pretentious finery. [17th–19th c.]
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 65:
- That fiddling, parading fellow (you know who I mean) made us wait for him two hours […] only for the sake of having a little more tawdry upon his housings […].
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 65:
Adjective
tawdry (comparative tawdrier, superlative tawdriest)
- (of clothing, appearance, etc.) Cheap and gaudy; showy.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gaudy
- 1890, Knut Hamsen, Sult (Hunger), Part One, at p.34 (Canongate Books Ltd. 2016 paperback edition, Sverre Lyngstad 1996 translation):
- This wasn't really a room for me; the green curtains before the windows were rather tawdry, and there was anything but an abundance of nails on the walls for hanging one's wardrobe.
- (of character, behavior, situations, etc.) Unseemly, base, shameful.
- Synonym: sordid
Translations
Further reading
- tawdry at OneLook Dictionary Search
tawdry From the web:
- tawdry meaning
- tawdry what does it mean
- what does tawdry
- what do tawdry mean
- what does tawdry mean in a sentence
- what does tawdry lace mean
- what is tawdry used in a sentence
- what does tawdry mean in spanish
you may also like
- terrible vs tawdry
- foodstuffs vs comestibles
- quiescent vs somnolent
- sill vs step
- bubbling vs sparkling
- standing vs caste
- vicious vs venomous
- tiresome vs prosaic
- beguile vs wheedle
- repellent vs unsavoury
- complicated vs manifold
- disreputable vs low
- important vs notable
- attack vs sortie
- thorough vs energetic
- build vs anatomy
- snobbish vs contemptuous
- mortification vs discomfiture
- liability vs care
- unpredictable vs protean