terribly

adverb

ter·​ri·​bly ˈter-ə-blē 

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.

Synonyms of terribly

• extremely
• very
• incredibly
• too
• highly
• badly
• so
• damned
• damn
• severely
• really
• desperately
• seriously
• far
• intensely
• greatly

Examples of terribly in a Sentence

I'm terribly sorry to bother you

Recent Examples on the Web

Overall drive quality is floaty and somewhat disconnected, but not terribly so. —New Atlas, 28 Nov. 2025

None of this intrigue is terribly inspired, let alone credible, but it’s handled with a certain panache. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025

At other times, Hoffman was terribly inconsistent. —Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page are gearing up to steam up the screen in a romantic comedy that promises fun twists, turns and some terribly good-looking people. —Janine Rubenstein, PEOPLE, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for terribly

• unbearably