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

Sage was thrown into an all boys state home and suffered terribly for a long time. —Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026

Sage was thrown into an all-boys state home and suffered terribly for a long time. —Time Staff, Time, 25 Feb. 2026

Yes, shelters save lives yet are a terribly inadequate option for the most vulnerable. —Norman Siegel, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026

The one thing about this show, the nobles, the kings and queens are all terribly interesting. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for terribly

• unbearably