ˈdreaded, ppl. a. (Formerly at dread v.)
[f. dread v. + -ed1.]
a. That is regarded with dread or great fear; inspiring deep awe or apprehension.
| 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie vii. 20 Dred, in dred of the dreddid, the dredder driues To Judge, more or lesse, as the dreddid contriues. 1590 Spenser Faerie Queene ii. x. 325 My most dreaded Soueraigne. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 98 In the presence Of dreaded Iustice. 1782 Cowper Hope in Poems I. 177 If chance..A tempest usher in the dreaded morn. 1878 A. Pinkerton Strikers xviii. 219 The conductor..promptly passed the dreaded word to the dispatcher. 1915 Chambers's Jrnl. 12 June 437/1 Perhaps the most loathsome of the snakes of Natal is the dreaded puff-adder. 1990 N.Y. Times 20 Jan. 24/4 About 5 percent of all elderly patients receiving these medications long term develop tardive diskinesia—a dreaded irreversible complication marked by rhythmic, jerky movements of the face, mouth or tongue. |
b. In humorous and ironic use: that is regarded with mock fear, infamous; to be avoided. Usu. with the. the dreaded lurgy: see lurgy n.
| 1810 Scott Poet. Wks. A. Seward I. Pref. p.vii, That dreaded phænomenon, a learned lady. 1881 Standard 8 July 6/1 Their captain was out for the dreaded ‘duck's egg’. 1911 L. Stone Jonah i. ix. 105 ‘Gorblimey! A knock-out!’..Stinky, with a haphazard blow, had given Chook the dreaded knock-out. 1956 S. Milligan Goon Show Scripts (1972) 169 Yes—moves right—puts dreaded dynamite under signal box for safety—does not notice dreaded wires leading to plunger up in signal cabin. Thinks. I'm for the dreaded deading alright this week. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai xiii. 242 A uniformed John Hop..handed me the dreaded ‘bluey’, the summons for riding a bike without lights. 1983 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Dec. 1348/2 Static landscape scenes..veer towards the dreaded holiday snap. |