Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dreadfully

/ˈdɹɛd.fʊl.i/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.70 in modern English

Syllables: dread-ful-ly
IPA: /ˈdɹɛd.fʊl.i/

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In a dreadful manner; terribly.

adv

Exceptionally, eminently, very much.

Dated

Example Sentences

"You behaved dreadfully yesterday night"
"The smellful old heathen was snoring dreadfully."
"That restaurant seems dreadfully expensive."
"At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost."
"“Here it is,” said Eddie. “‘Why Must it Always be Tomato Soup?’ It's so deeply true, don't you feel? Tomato soup is so dreadfully eternal.”"

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English dredfully, dradefullich, dredefullich; equivalent to dreadful + -ly.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: dredfully
Suffix: dreadful

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

more dreadfully (comparative) most dreadfully (superlative)

Synonyms

awfully horribly dismally

Questions

How do you pronounce dreadfully?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɹɛd.fʊl.i/.
What does dreadfully mean?: In a dreadful manner; terribly.
Where does dreadfully come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce dreadfully

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dreadfully”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɹɛd.fʊl.i/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dreadfully”.
Repeat and practice — Say “dreadfully” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.