dreadful

dreadful (ˈdrɛdfʊl)

—*adj*
1.	extremely disagreeable, shocking, or bad: what a dreadful play
2.	(intensifier): this is a dreadful waste of time
3.	causing dread; terrifying
4.	archaic inspiring awe

'dreadfulness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

dreadful

early 13c., "full of dread," from dread + -ful. Meaning "causing dread" is from mid-13c.; weakened sense of "very bad" is from mid-18c. Related: Dreadfully.

Example sentences

They were thankfully removed before doing their dreadful damage.

The post has appeared elsewhere online, so it's not some dreadful secret.

They, unlike the grad students, know how dreadful the market is and how many

truly lousy jobs there are in this field.

And the public finances will be left in a dreadful state.

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frightful goblin God-awful Gorgon grievous grim

Matching Quote

"But among all our Methods of moving Pity or Terror, there is none so absurd and barbarous, and what more exposes us to the Contempt and Ridicule of our Neighbours, than that dreadful butchering of one another, which is so very frequent upon the English Stage. To delight in seeing Men stabbed, poisoned, racked, or impaled, is certainly the Sign of a cruel Temper: And as this is often practised before the British Audience, several French Criticks, who think these are grateful Spectacles to us, take Occasion from them to represent us a People that delight in Blood."

-Joseph Addison