terrible
part of speech
adjective (terrible); adverb (terribly)
meaning for a pupil
1) Terrible means very bad or unpleasant: a terrible storm, a terrible smell. tree →
2) Terrible means very serious and causing great harm or fear: a terrible accident. tree →
3) Terrible at something means very bad at doing it. tree →
4) Informally, terrible can just mean very great: a terrible hurry. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It often means awe-inspiring, causing great fear and wonder, not just bad. It is used for God and His mighty deeds. Interpretation: Tradition links this to "fear of God," a mix of awe and respect. God's "terrible" acts, such as the Red Sea, show His power and call for reverence. In the primary lessons: In stories, «terrible» warns the reader about danger or disaster; in fairy tales there are terrible monsters and terrible giants. In everyday life children use it for bad days, bad weather or feeling ill. In writing lessons, teachers encourage stronger or more exact words too: dreadful, awful, horrifying. Phrases: a terrible mistake, feel terrible, terrible at, a terrible fright, terribly sorry.
examples
- The glory of his snorting is terrible. (Writings JOB.39.20, JPS 1917) tree →
- Out of the north cometh golden splendour, about God is terrible majesty. (Writings JOB.37.22, JPS 1917) tree →
- Wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea. (Writings PSA.106.22, JPS 1917) tree →
- There was a terrible storm last night. tree →
- I feel terrible — I think I have the flu. tree →
- That cheese has a terrible smell. tree →
- I'm terrible at whistling. tree →
- The story was about a terrible dragon. tree →
- It was a terrible accident, but nobody was badly hurt. tree →
- I'm terribly sorry I'm late. tree →
- There arose a very terrible storm. tree →
note
No -er/-est forms: use «more terrible», or a stronger word. Adverb «terribly» often just means «very»: «terribly sorry», «terribly kind». Old meaning: causing terror; «Ivan the Terrible» means feared, not bad at things.
In the corpora
- Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee.
- For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner ceaseth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off;
- The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.
- They are terrible and dreadful; their law and their majesty proceed from themselves.
- Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «terrible» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.