Dreadfully overcrowded trains and frequent cancellations made commuting an ordeal.
I am dreadfully sorry for any damage I may have caused.
You must be dreadfully disappointed!
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Anna's arm hurt dreadfully, worse than when she'd fallen off the top of the climbing frame at the nursery.
His face was mine, but distorted dreadfully.
I felt dreadfully inadequate in the face of this material.
I noticed for the first time that it was dreadfully long.
Precedent counts for much, especially in the dreadfully slow handling of individual cases.
To observe that something precious has been lost, covered over, and denied is regarded as dreadfully unsophisticated.
Thesaurus
Longman Language Activatorextremely►extremely
especially written use this when you want to use a stronger word than 'very': · The conference was extremely badly organized.· The fungus is extremely difficult to get rid of.· Regular visits to the doctor are extremely important for pregnant mothers.
►absolutely
as much as it is possible to imagine - use this to emphasize adjectives that already have a strong meaning: absolutely marvellous/wonderful/delicious etc: · We had an absolutely marvellous day.· The costumes were absolutely stunning.absolutely filthy/disgusting/awful etc: · When they came in from the yard, they were absolutely filthy.absolutely terrified/exhausted/delighted/furious etc: · She stood in the middle of the stage looking absolutely terrified.absolutely necessary/essential: · Don't call me unless it's absolutely necessary.
►awfully/terribly/terrifically
spoken extremely: · Our Internet connection is awfully slow today.· He's been terribly ill for the last two weeks.· The plot is terrifically complicated and difficult to follow.· That box looks awfully heavy - are you sure you don't need any help?
►very, very
spoken say this when you want to emphasize 'very': · I'm very, very angry with her.· This is a very, very important decision - please give it your full attention.· We've been working on this deal for a very, very long time.
►incredibly/unbelievably
use this when something is so good, so bad, so fast etc that you are surprised by it or you find it hard to believe: · Everyone in the company works incredibly hard.· Their house is incredibly cold - I don't think they heat it at all.· What they did was unbelievably stupid.· The apartment is unbelievably cheap - there must be something wrong with it.
►ridiculously
use this to emphasize how unreasonable or stupid something is: · The questions seemed ridiculously easy.· The amount they offered for the car was ridiculously low.
►enormously/hugely
use this especially to emphasize how popular, successful, or powerful someone or something is: · Barry's novels have been hugely successful.· "The Wizard of Oz" remains enormously popular with children.· Davis plays an enormously influential role in city politics.
►dreadfully
British use this to emphasize how bad something is, or how sad or unhappy someone is: · You must be dreadfully disappointed!· Dreadfully overcrowded trains and frequent cancellations made commuting an ordeal.
►remarkably/exceptionally
use this to emphasize how unusual, impressive, or surprising something is: · Mills' predictions turned out to be remarkably accurate.· The old documents are remarkably well preserved.· Nadine's daughter has an exceptionally fine singing voice.· The heavy soil of the delta produces exceptionally high yields of rice and millet.
Collocations
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES►desperately/terribly/dreadfully unhappy
· It was the first time she had been away from home and she was desperately unhappy.
►terribly/dreadfully/horribly wrong
· Harry felt sure that something was terribly wrong.
1extremely or very much: They’re dreadfully busy at the moment. Would you mind dreadfully if I didn’t come?2very badly: The team played dreadfully.