dreadfully
/'dredfuli/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adverb:
- In a dreadful, terrible, or extremely unpleasant manner: Used to describe something done in a way that causes great fear, suffering, or distress.
- To a very great degree; extremely: Used as an intensifier, often in informal contexts, to mean "very" or "awfully."
Usage Examples
- Adverb (in a dreadful manner):
- The soldier was dreadfully wounded in the battle.
- She screamed dreadfully when she saw the ghost.
- Adverb (as an intensifier meaning "extremely"):
- I am dreadfully sorry for being late.
- The wait for the results was dreadfully long.
Advanced Usage
- "dreadfully + adjective": A common collocation where "dreadfully" intensifies the adjective that follows.
- The news was dreadfully sad.
- He is dreadfully afraid of heights.
- "dreadfully + past participle": Used to intensify a state resulting from an action.
- The room was dreadfully disorganized.
- She felt dreadfully underprepared for the exam.
Variants and Related Words
- Dreadful (adjective): Causing great fear, suffering, or unhappiness; extremely bad or unpleasant.
- We heard the dreadful news of the earthquake.
- Dread (noun/verb): (n.) Great fear or apprehension. (v.) To anticipate with great fear or anxiety.
- She lives in dread of failure.
- I dread having to give that speech.
Synonyms
- Terribly: In a terrible manner; very.
- Awfully: Very; extremely.
- Horribly: In a horrible way; very.
- Extremely: To a very great degree.
Related Phrases
- Dreadfully boring: Extremely boring.
- The lecture was dreadfully boring.
- Dreadfully wrong: Very or terribly incorrect.
- His calculations went dreadfully wrong.
Adverb
- 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
- of a dreadful kind
- there was a dreadfully bloody accident on the road this morning