Foundation level · Year 4 · free
dreadful
adjective · Say it: DRED-ful
What it means
Foundationvery bad or unpleasant
The weather was dreadful on sports day, so the races were moved indoors.
Similar and opposite words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- awful
- dire
- horrible
- terrible
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- excellent
- pleasant
- wonderful
More examples
- Mum said the traffic on the motorway had been dreadful all morning.
Where the word comes from
From 'dread', an Old English word meaning great fear, plus '-ful'.
Try a quick question
One question about “dreadful”, the way 11+ papers ask it (Foundation level).