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strong emotion; as, to strike the mind, with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror. Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the first view. Atterbury. They please as beauties, here as wonders strike. Pope.

; consisting of ten in one; ten times repeated. The grisly Terror . . . grew tenfold More dreadful and deform. Milton.

Adapted or likely to excite terror, awe, or dread; dreadful; formidable. Prudent in peace, and terrible in war. Prior. Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. Deut. vii. 21.

Causing terror; adapted to excite great fear or dread; terrible; as, a terrific form; a terrific sight.

Extreme fear; fear that agitates body and mind; violent dread; fright. Terror seized the rebel host. Milton.

To threaten. [Obs. or Poetic] Shak. Of all his threating reck not a mite. Chaucer. Our dreaded admiral from far they threat. Dryden.

Fig.: To make a loud noise; esp. a heavy sound, of some continuance. His dreadful voice no more Would thunder in my ears. Milton.

tonans, an epithet applied by the Romans to several of their gods, esp. to Jupiter. That dreadful oath which binds the Thunderer. Pope.

erbolt, -- formerly believed to be a stone. Fear no more the lightning flash, Nor the all-dreaded thunderstone. Shak.

An insane or greatly exaggerated dread of poisons.

"Year treads on year." Wordsworth. -- To tread upon the heels of, to follow close upon. "Dreadful consequences that tread upon the heels of those allowances to sin." Milton. One woe doth tread upon another's heel. Shak.

r terror; such as may astonish or terrify by its magnitude, force, or violence; terrible; dreadful; as, a tremendous wind; a tremendous shower; a tremendous shock or fall. A tremendous mischief was a foot. Motley.

Unfamiliar; strange; hence, mysterious; dreadful; also, odd; awkward; boorish; as, uncouth manners. "Uncouth in guise and gesture." I. Taylor. I am surprised with an uncouth fear. Shak. Thus sang the uncouth swain. Milton.

functions of the government which were too weak to maintain law and order, and inspiring dread in all who came within their jurisdiction. Encyc. Brit.

r. And flaming ministers to watch and tend Their earthly charge; of these the vigilance I dread. Milton.

whiles, at times; at intervals. And so on us at whiles it falls, to claim Powers that we dread. J. H. Newman. -- The while, The whiles, in or during the time that; meantime; while. Tennyson. -- Within a while, in a short time; soon. -- Worth while, worth the time which it requires; worth the time and pains; hence, w…

deserve a worser end. Beau. & Fl. From worser thoughts which make me do amiss. Bunyan. A dreadful quiet felt, and, worser far Than arms, a sullen interval of war. Dryden.

Dreaded. Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad. Spenser.