1
a
: inspiring dread (see dread entry 2 sense 1a) : causing great and oppressive fear
a dreadful attack
2
: extremely bad, distasteful, unpleasant, or shocking
a dreadful idea
a dreadful performance
dreadful behavior
The food was absolutely dreadful.
3
: extreme
dreadful disorder
publishing
: a cheap and sensational (see sensational sense 2) story or periodical
Examples of dreadful in a Sentence
Adjective
Her performance was absolutely dreadful.
Those children have such dreadful manners.
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Sources briefed on the Bruins’ strategy said UCLA’s most influential supporters connected to the football program think very highly of Lynn, who has improved what was a dreadful Trojans defense.
—Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Tony Morley, Time, 28 Dec. 2022
The program is filled out with two original stories written by Novotny; including one with a character from a penny dreadful — the pulp fiction of the age.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for dreadful
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Adjective
In the dreadful wake of the greatest die-off in history, the end-Permian mass extinction, the biosphere struggled for millions of years with high carbon dioxide levels during the torrid height of Pangaea.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Sources briefed on the Bruins’ strategy said UCLA’s most influential supporters connected to the football program think very highly of Lynn, who has improved what was a dreadful Trojans defense.
—Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Noun
In 1989, there were 892,055 cases of Guinea worm disease, a dreadful and debilitating waterborne parasitic infection historically endemic to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
—Tony Morley, Time, 28 Dec. 2022
The program is filled out with two original stories written by Novotny; including one with a character from a penny dreadful — the pulp fiction of the age.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for dreadful
Cite this Entry
“Dreadful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dreadful. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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