dreadful
adjective
1. causing fear or dread or terror
- the dread presence of the headmaster
- polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was
- a dreadful storm
Similar word(s): alarming, awful, dire, direful, dread, dreaded, fearful, fearsome, frightening, horrendous, horrific, terrible
2. exceptionally bad or displeasing
- dreadful manners
Similar word(s): bad, abominable, atrocious, awful, painful, terrible, unspeakable
3. extremely disagreeable and unpleasant
- don't go out, the weather is dreadful
Similar word(s): disagreeable
noun
1. A shocking or sensational crime.
2. A shocking or sensational report of a crime.