dreadful 
With dredful lierte and Rind devocioun. 
Chauffr, (Jood Women, 1. 109. 
3. Exciting or attended by great dread, fear, 
or terror; terrible; formidable; direful: as, a 
drea<(ful storm ; a dreadful invasion. 
And /it ia the Loud of Prestre John more ferr, bo many 
drnlfallf ioimieyes. ilandeaille, Travels, p. 271. 
The niriit and dreadful day of the Lord. Mat Iv. 6. 
The lady may command, sir; 
She bears an eye more dreadful than your wrn|in. 
Fletcher and Rowley, -Maid In the Mill, 1. 1. 
There Is nothing so Inconsiderable, which maynotappear 
dreadful to an imagination that is fllled with omens and 
prognostics. Addison, Omens. 
4. Awful; venerable; awe-inspiring. 
How dreadful is this place ! Gen. xxviii. 17. 
A dreadful music. Jfatsinyer, Renegade, v. 3. 
So Evangelist drew nearer and nearer, and, coming up 
to him, he looked upon him with a severe and dreadful 
countenance. Buiiiian, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 84. 
= 8yn. 3. Fearful, Friffhtful, etc, (see awful); terrific, 
horrible, horrid, dire, direful, tremendous. 
II. n. That which is fearful or terrible : used 
only in the phrases penny dreadful, shilling 
dreadful, to denote a tale of vulgar sensation- 
alism sold at a small price ? or a cheap sensa- 
tional newspaper or periodical. [Eng.] 
A drunken good-for-nothing, blind to his own absurdi- 
ties and shortcomings, he [Ally Sloperl commenced his 
career as the hero of a penny dreadful which, unfortu- 
nately for its author, had hut little success. 
Contemporary Ret)., L. 516. 
By grace of a very rare genius, the best work of the 
Brontes is saved, as by fire, out of the repulsive sensation- 
alism they started, destined to perish in shilling dreadfuls. 
F. Harrison, Choice of Books, iii. 
dreadfully (dred'ful-i), adv. [Early mod. E. 
also dredfulti/, < ME. dredfully; < dreadful + 
-fy2.] if. With alarm ; fearfully. 
Ac whan he hadde sigte of that segge a-syde he gan hym 
drawe, 
Dredfully by this day ! as duk doth fram the faucoun. 
Piers Plowman (B), xviL 62. 
Ful tenderly begynueth she to wepe ; 
She rist her vp, and dredefully she qnaketh, 
Aa dothe the braunche that Zepherus shaketh. 
Chaucer (ed. Oilman), Good Women, 1. 2679. 
2. In a dreadful or terrible manner. 
Ffro Viterbe to Venyse, theis valyante knyghtez : 
Dresses up dreilfully the dragone of golde, 
With egles al-over, enamelede of sable. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2026. 
Their beaten anvils dreadfully resound, 
And .Etna shakes all o'er, anil thunders underground. 
Addition, tr. of Virgil's Georgtcs, iv. 
dreadfulness (dred'ful-nes), n. The quality of 
being dreadful ; terribleness ; frightf ulness. 
dreadingly (dred'ing-li), adv. In a manner 
significant of dread or terror ; with misgiving. 
[Rare.] 
Mistrustfully he trusteth. 
And he dreadingly doth dare ; 
And forty passions in a trice 
In him consort and square. 
Warner, Alhion's England, vl. 33. 
dreadless (dred'les), a. [< ME. dredles, drede- 
les; < dread + -less.] 1. Fearless; bold; not 
intimidated; undaunted; intrepid. 
And dreadless of their danger, climb 
The floating mountains of the brine. 
Cotton (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 217). 
Gentle and just and dreadless, is he not 
The monarch of the world? 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, iii. 1. 
2. Exempt from dread or fear of danger ; secure. 
Safe in his drcadles den him thought to hide. 
Spenser, World's Vanltle, x. 
3f. Without dread or apprehension : used ellip- 
tically (like doubtless) with adverbial effect. 
I)o dresse we tharefore, and byde we no langere, 
Ffore dredlense with-owttyne dowtte, the daye schalle be 
irnre/ ! Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2043. 
dreadlessness (dred'les-nes), n. Fearlessness; 
undauntedness ; freedom from fear or terror. 
Zelmane (to whom danger then was a cause of dreadles- 
nest . . . ) with swiftness of desire crossed him. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, I. 
dreadlyt (dred'li), a. [< ME. dredli, dredlii-h ; 
< dread + -ly 1 .] Dreadful. 
This drt'iidlit spectacle. Spenser. 
dreadnaught. dreadnought (dred'n&t), . [< 
<lrt'd, ., + obj. naught, nought.] 1. A person 
who fears nothing. 2. Something that assures 
against fear. Hence 3. A thick cloth with 
a long pile, used for warm clothing or for pro- 
tection against the elements; a garment made 
of such cloth. Also called fearnought. 
Look at him in a great-coat of the closest texture that 
the looms of Leeds could furnish -one of those </*vat/- 
nouijhtt the utility of which sets fashion at defiance. 
Southey, The Doctor, Ivii. 
1765 
dream 1 (drem), n. [< ME. dreme, dreem, drem, 
dream, a dream, < AS. "dredm (not found in this 
sense) = OS. drom = OFries. dram = D. droom 
= MLG. drom, LG. droom = OHG. MHG. troum, 
G. traum = Icel. draumr = Sw. drom = Dan. 
driim, a dream; perhaps lit. a deceptive vision, 
orig. 'draugmo-, < Teut. \f "drug, seen in OHG. 
triogan, MHG. triegen, G. triei/cn, now triii/ni 
= OS. bi-<triogan (= OHG. bilriogan), deceive, 
delude (cf. OS. drugi, deceptive, OHG. MHG. 
ge-troc = OS. gi-drog, phantom, apparition, = 
Icel. draugr, a ghost, spirit ; = Skt. \/ druh (for 
'dhrugh T), hurt (by deceit, wile, magic), cf. 
OPers. drauga, a lie). Though generally iden- 
tified with draw 2 , AS. dream, joy, a joyful 
sound, etc., there is really nothing to connect 
the two words except the likeness of form.] 1 . 
A succession of images or fantastic ideas pres- 
ent in the mind during sleep ; the sleeping state 
in which such images occur. 
And the! ete no mete in alle the Wynter : but thel lyjn 
as in a Drem, as don the Serpentes. 
MandeviUe, Travels, p. 288. 
Dreams are but Interludes which fancy makes ; 
When monarch reason sleeps, this mimic wakes. 
Drydfn, Cock and Fox, 1. 325. 
A ilrfuni is a succession of phenomena having no ex- 
ternal reality to correspond to them. 
W. K. Clifford, Lectures, I. 244. 
2. That which is presented to the mind by the 
imaginative faculty, though not in sleep; a 
vision of the fancy, especially a wild or vain 
fancy. 
Glories 
Of human greatness are but pleasing dreams. 
Ford, Broken Heart, ill. 5. 
The potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of 
avarice. Johnson, In Boswell, an. 1781. 
They live together and they dine together ; . . . but the 
man is himself and the woman herself ; that dream of 
love Is over, as everything else Is over In life. 
Thackeray, Henry Esmond, vii. 
dream 1 (drem), v. ; pret. and pp. dreamed or 
dreamt, ppr. dreaming. [< ME. dremen (not 
in AS.) = D. droomen = Sw. dromma = Dan. 
dromme = OHG. troumjan, MHG. troumen, Or. 
traumen, dream ; from the noun.] I. intrans. 
1. To be partially, and with more or less con- 
fusion or incoherence, conscious of images and 
thoughts during sleep : with o/before an object : 
as, to dream of a battle; to dream o/an absent 
friend. 
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set upon the 
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Gen. xxviii. 12. 
The slave who, slumbering on his rusted chain, 
Dreams of the palm-trees on his burning plain. 
O. W. Holmes, Poetry. 
So I dream, sometimes, o/a straight scarlet collar, stiff 
with gold lace, around my neck, Instead of this limp white 
cravat. G. W. Curtis, Pnie and I, p. 64. 
2. To think idly or dreamily ; give way to 
visionary thought or speculation; indulge in 
reverie or waking visions. 
They dream on In a constant course of reading, but not 
digesting. Locke. 
Franklin thinks, Investigates, theorizes, invents, but 
never does he dream. 
Theodore Parker, Historic Americans. 
3. To have indefinite thought or expectation ; 
think of something as possible ; conceive : with 
of: as, he little dreamed of his approaching fate. 
He ... [Jesus] takes this occasion to tell his Disciples 
that they must no longer dream of the Glories and Splen- 
dour of this world. StSlingfleet, Sermons, I. xii. 
We might be otherwise ; we might be all 
We dream of, happy, high, majestical. 
Shelley, Julian and Maddalo. 
In Persia, no one with any pretence to respectability 
would dream of stirring outside the door without at least 
four men walking behind him. 0' Donovan, Merv, xt. 
II. trans. 1. To see or think in a dream; 
imagine in sleep. 
Your old men shall dream dreams. Joel ii. 28. 
Said he not so ? or did I dri-ain it so ? 
Shak., B. and J., v. X 
The dreams which nations dream come true. 
Lowell, Ode to France. 
2. To imagine as if in a dream ; think about 
vainly, idly, or fancifully. 
Man errs not that he deems 
His welfare his true aim ; 
He errs because he dreams 
The world does but exist that welfare to bestow. 
M. Arnold, Empedocles on Etna, i. 2. 
3. To suppose indefinitely ; have a conception 
of or about ; believe in a general way. 
The Atheists and Naturalists ilreanie the world to be 
eternall, and com-ciue that all men could not be of one; 
because of this diuersitie of Languages. 
Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 45. 
dreamy 
She never dream* they used her for a snare, 
And now withdraw the bait has served its turn. 
Bruirniny, King and Book, I. 287. 
4. To pass in reverie or inaction ; spend idly 
orfancifully : followed by away, out, or through : 
as, to dream away one's life. 
Why then does Antony dream mit his hours? 
Dryden, All for Love, i. 1. 
dream-t, . [ME. drem, dreem, dreme, earlier 
dream (rare except in earliest ME.), a sound, 
esp. a joyful sound, jubilation, < AS. dream, a 
sound, esp. a joyful sound, song, harmony, joy 
(very common), = OS. drom, joy; hence the 
verb AS. dryman, dreman, rejoice, make jubilee, 
sing, = OS. dromian, rejoice. Prob. not con- 
nected with dream 1 , q. v., but perhaps allied 
to Or. Hpvfaf, a noise as of many voices, a shout- 
ing, murmuring; perhaps also allied to drone 1 , 
q. v.] A noise, especially a joyful noise ; jubi- 
lation; music. 
Tha he mlhte (here . . . muchel folkes dream. 
Layamon, I. 43. 
Homes blast other [or] belles drem. 
Bestiary (Old Eng. Misc., ed. Morris), L 665. 
l.ii < I bus ! las ! das ! rowtyn be rowe 
Swech dolful a dreme the devyl It to dryve. 
Jiel. Ant., I. 240. 
To hire louerd heo sede with stllle dreme. 
King Horn (E. E. T. 8.), p. 52. 
dreamer (dre'mer), n. [< ME. dremere, dremer 
= D. droomer = OHG. trpumare, G. traamer = 
Sw. drommarc = Dan. drommer; < dream 1 , v., + 
-er 1 .] 1 . One who dreams ; one who has dreams 
or visions. 
They said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 
Oen. xxxvil. 19. 
Alas ! the dreamer first must sleep, 
I only watch'd, and wish'd to weep. 
Byron, The Giaour. 
2. A visionary : as, a political dreamer. 
He must be an idle dreamer, 
Who leaves the pie and gnaws the streamer. Prior. 
3. A mope; a sluggard. 4. A South Ameri- 
can puff-bird of the genus Chelidoptera, as C. 
tenebrosa. 
dreamery (dre'mer-i), n. [= D. droomerij = G. 
trdumerei = Dan. Sw. drommeri; as dream 1 + 
-ery, collective suffix.] A habit of dreaming 
or musing: as, given to dreamery. Imp. Diet. 
dreamful (drem'ful), a. [< dream 1 + -ful.] 
Full of dreams ; marked by dreams or vision- 
ary thought. 
Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease. 
Tennyson, Lotos- Eaters (Choric Song). 
dream-hole (drem'hol), n. One of the open- 
ings left in the walls of steeples, etc., for the 
admission of light. Grose. [Prov. Eng.] 
dreamily (dre'mi-li), adv. 1 . In a dreamy man- 
ner ; as a dream. 
I hear the cry 
Of their voices high 
Falling dreamily through the sky. 
Lonrjfellow, Birds of Passage. 
2. As in a dreaming state ; in reverie ; idly, 
dreaminess (dre'mi-nes), n. The state of be- 
ing dreamy, or given to reverie. 
He was a dark, still, slender person, always with a trance- 
like remoteness, a mystic dreaminess of manner. 
6. W. Holme, Old Vol. of Life, p. 68. 
dreamland (drem'land), . The land or re- 
gion seen in dreams ; hence, the land of fancy 
or imagination ; the region of reverie. 
They are real, and have a venue in their respective dis- 
tricts in dreamland. Lamb, To Coleridge. 
dreamless (drem'les), a. f (=G. traumlos =Dan. 
dromlos) < dream 1 + -less.] Free from dreams. 
Woni with misery, 
He slept the dreamless sleep of weariness. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 207. 
dreamlessly (drem'les-li), adv. In a dream- 
less manner. 
dreamt (dremt). Preterit and past participle 
of dream 1 . 
dream-while (drem'hwil), . The apparent 
duration of a dream. [Rare.] 
Now and then, for a dream-while or so. 
Lamb, Artificial Comedy. 
dream-world (drem'werid), n. A world of 
dreams or illusive shows. [Rare.] 
But thou be wise in this dreaiH-icvrld of ours. 
TeiiHi/iton, Ancient Sage. 
dreamy (dre'mi), a. [(= MLG. dromech) < 
dream* + -y 1 .] 1. Full of dreams; given to 
dreaming ; relating to or associated with 
dreams ; giving rise to dreams : as, dreamy 
moods. 
All day within the dreamy house 
The doors upon th ir hinges creak d. 
Tenuytun, Mariana. 
