The dreadful condition of the ancient manuscript made it nearly impossible for scholars to decipher the faded text.
这份古代手稿糟糕的状况使得学者们几乎无法解读褪色的文字。
Which choice best defines “dreadful”?
A — Very bad, awful. “dreadful” means very bad, awful.
Which word means “very bad, awful”?
C — dreadful. “dreadful” means very bad, awful.
dreadful — very bad, awful. In Chinese: 糟糕的，可怕的.
dreadful is pronounced /ˈdredfl/.
The dreadful condition of the ancient manuscript made it nearly impossible for scholars to decipher the faded text. (这份古代手稿糟糕的状况使得学者们几乎无法解读褪色的文字。)
awful, terrible, horrible — all close in meaning to dreadful (very bad, awful).
wonderful, excellent — each the opposite of dreadful (very bad, awful).
Yes. dreadful is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
dread(fear)+ful(full of)