Double trouble: understanding "dreadful" and "awful"

Reviewed and edited by

Lloyd Cooper 16/01/2025, 08:18

English.me team member

Dreadful and awful. What's the difference?

What is similar?

Both "dreadful" and "awful" are adjectives used to describe something extremely bad, unpleasant, or of poor quality. They convey strong negative emotions and are often used to express dissatisfaction or distress about a situation, event, or object.

What is different?

"Dreadful" often implies a sense of dread, fear, or something causing great suffering or unhappiness. It can suggest that something is not only bad but also frightful or shocking. "Awful", while also describing something very bad, is more commonly used in everyday language and can also function as an intensifier in expressions (e.g., "an awful lot").

Which one is more common?

Examples of usage

Dreadful

The storm caused a dreadful amount of damage to the town.
She felt a dreadful sense of loneliness after moving away.
The food at the new restaurant was simply dreadful.

Awful

I had an awful headache after the concert.
He felt awful about forgetting his friend's birthday.
The traffic was awful during rush hour.