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Synonyms

frightfully

British  
/ ˈfraɪtfəlɪ /

adverb

  1. (intensifier)

    I'm frightfully glad
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After a frightfully cold spell, a return to milder temperatures can cause previously frozen pipes to burst.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

And it is fantasy to try to divorce sports from the times we live in and the events that unfold, sometimes frightfully, beyond the comfortable confines of the stadium and arena.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2025

He looks frightfully self-conscious, not so much like a man wearing uncomfortable wool or cotton but one who realizes he’s wearing the emperor’s clothes.

From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2023

Alabama has mostly breezed through the first month of the season, with one big scare and three games that were frightfully but predictably easy.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2022

I am frightfully glad to see you safe and sound.’

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.