Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

penny dreadful

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.52 in modern English

Syllables
pen-ny -dread-ful
IPA
23
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A cheap paperback book, particularly those concerning lurid depictions of crime in the Victorian era.

noun

Pulp fiction: stories written in the lurid style of the penny dreadfuls.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From its low price and the lower-class British use of dreadful (“sensationalized crime reporting”).

Inflected Forms

penny dreadfuls (plural)

Phrases

penny-dreadfulish penny-dreadfulism dime novel pulp fiction

Frequently Paired Words

dime novel gazette pulp fiction

Synonyms

dime novel

Questions

What does penny dreadful mean?
A cheap paperback book, particularly those concerning lurid depictions of crime in the Victorian era.
Where does penny dreadful come from?
From its low price and the lower-class British use of dreadful (“sensationalized crime reporting”).

How to pronounce penny dreadful

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “penny dreadful”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “penny dreadful”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “penny dreadful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.