terribly

adverb

ter·​ri·​bly ˈter-ə-blē How to pronounce terribly (audio)
ˈte-rə-
1
: to an extreme degree : very : extremely
became terribly ill
had a terribly nice time
got terribly excited
I had tried a little radio before the war and hadn't been terribly impressed with it at the time.Walter Cronkite
He and Jimmy got into a quarrel about the girl's being fired, and it got terribly bitter.Virginia Foster Durr
2
: in a terrible way : very badly, poorly, or unpleasantly
behaving terribly
They were treated terribly.
This can be regarded as a somewhat progressive attitude because it is true that women were terribly abused in the Roman world.Norman F. Cantor
And then the next year I played terribly and finished close to last.Gene Littler
3
: very much
I miss you terribly.

Examples of terribly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Vikings aren’t terribly overvalued in the futures market by any means, with a win total of just 8.5, but this feels like an inflated line. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 1 Sep. 2023 Holed up in this remote hideaway, with the cavalry horses of Strauss’ Radetzky March prancing all over the crackly classical soundtrack, Pinochet is feeling terribly sorry for himself. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023 There would’ve had to be something terribly wrong with that computer. Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023 Albeit an effective one, with terribly significant consequences. Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2023 But according to a long-running lawsuit, the crunchy cult-favorite company treated workers terribly for years. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 3 Aug. 2023 An older relative who shared the hillside home with its view of palm trees and the ocean below had stepped out that afternoon, unaware anything would go terribly wrong. Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2023 None of these villains appears to have been terribly bright. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 15 Aug. 2023 Enter Email Sign Up When asked about the Emerson College poll, DeSantis told reporters Tuesday that he’s been advised that polls of New Hampshire voters conducted by firms outside of New Hampshire aren’t terribly reliable. Steven Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'terribly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of terribly was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near terribly

Cite this Entry

“Terribly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terribly. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023.

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