1
as in terrifying
causing fear
a dreadful hurricane
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in awful
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment
a dreadful performance of a beautiful piece of music
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3
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
dreadful news of a crime wave in the neighborhood
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4
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
the dreadful heat of the desert
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5
as in sheer
having no exceptions or restrictions
made a dreadful mess of his first marriage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dreadful
No, not because of the Rockies’ dreadful season.
—
Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
Carolina’s dreadful debut featured a litany of miscues in a 26-10 road defeat.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
Although some analysts have suggested Starmer may quietly be pleased with the resignation of his main rival and potential successor, the toppling of Rayner caps off what has been a dreadful summer for Labour, in which the party has lost more ground in the polls to the insurgent Reform UK.
—Max Foster, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
The Champions Trophy exit was equally passive after a dreadful showing in the preparatory bilateral series against India.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dreadful
Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
Carolina’s dreadful debut featured a litany of miscues in a 26-10 road defeat.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
Although some analysts have suggested Starmer may quietly be pleased with the resignation of his main rival and potential successor, the toppling of Rayner caps off what has been a dreadful summer for Labour, in which the party has lost more ground in the polls to the insurgent Reform UK.
—Max Foster, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
The Champions Trophy exit was equally passive after a dreadful showing in the preparatory bilateral series against India.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dreadful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreadful
Adjective
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The device sounded terrifying – an apparently new, nuclear capable IRBM, fired with multiple conventional warheads, that the Kremlin boasted could rip through European defenses.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
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He’s supposed to be a terrifying mirror to our discontent.—
Emily Temple
September 30,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Once the selloff happened, the Twins were destined to be awful for the final two months, all but sealing Baldelli’s fate.—
Aaron Gleeman,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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That’s the awful low; but Dunne’s story is ultimately one of redemption.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Those bots have attracted lawsuits in horrific instances where users lost their grip on reality or took their own lives after interacting with them.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
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Many of the base’s survivors have similarly described the singularly horrific nature of those 45 square miles in eastern Cuba.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Watching the Ryder Cup at an open-air golf course presents a whole different challenge, and attendees were warned to be ready for an intense security operation on Friday.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
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In aviation, iridium-tipped electrodes are used in high-performance spark plugs, providing longer service life and reliable ignition under intense conditions.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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To watch Lipe-Smith’s Caroline cuddle in bed watching TV on her iPad, or bopping around to JoJo Siwa, or pensively finishing a Popsicle while sitting beside her grandmother at a museum, is to have the sheer malevolence of our current administration and its adherents thrown into sharp relief.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
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The sheer paucity of Russian resources, after three and a half years of war, may lead to a similarly ineffective response to any use of Tomahawks.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Miami could choose to move on from the star receiver due to the horrible season-ending injury.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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Many of the game’s best teams spent the regular season alternating between brilliant and horrible.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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As if the Twins hadn’t experienced enough misery, September opened at home with an ugly, four-game sweep by the White Sox, who lost at least 100 games for the third year in a row.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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When the Motion Picture Association of America joined the consortium, in 2014, the fight grew uglier.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The crew have put two giant skeletons with their arms in the air like gruesome wacky waving inflatable tube men at the Farm's entrance to catch your eye and indicate where the spooky fun is at.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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The fake blood trapped between the layers bursts out at the incision point, replicating in gruesome detail the sensation of real bleeding.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dreadful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreadful. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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