# dreadful

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈdɹɛd.fl̩/ · frequency rank #11,882

## Definitions
1. Full of something causing dread, whether
2. Full of something causing dread, whether
3. Full of something causing dread, whether
4. Full of dread, whether
5. Full of dread, whether
6. Full of dread, whether

## Etymology
From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful), equivalent to dread + -ful.

## Easily confused with
- **dreadfully** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dreadful-vs-dreadfully)

## Common misspellings (12)
`ddreadful`, `deradful`, `draedful`, `dreaddful`, `dreadfful`, `dreadflu`, `dreadfull`, `dreadufl`, `dreafdul`, `dredaful`, `drreadful`, `rdeadful`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dreadful