— dreadfulness , n.
/dred"feuhl/ , adj.
1. causing great dread, fear, or terror; terrible: a dreadful storm.
2. inspiring awe or reverence.
3. extremely bad, unpleasant, or ugly: dreadful cooking; a dreadful hat.
n. Brit.
4. See penny dreadful .
5. a periodical given to highly sensational matter.
[ 1175-1225; ME dredful. See DREAD, -FUL ]
Syn. 1. frightful, dire.