- awful: causing fear or dread or terror; "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous ...
- atrocious: exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"
- very unpleasant
- (dreadfully) of a dreadful kind; "there was a dreadfully bloody accident on the road this morning"
- (dreadfully) dismally: in a dreadful manner; "as he looks at the mess he has left behind he must wonder how the Brits so often managed to succeed in the kind of situation where he has so dismally failed"
- A shocking or sensational crime; A shocking or sensational report of a crime; Causing dread; bad
- very. "Oh, her dress is dreadfully pretty."
- Very, a lot, exceedingly. "He's just got a dreadful amount of money."
- Exclamation denoting enthusiastic approval.