<B>dreadful, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>causing dread; terrible; fearful; awe-inspiring. <BR> <I>Ex. The dragon was a dreadful creature. Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful (John Donne).</I> (SYN) dire, awful. <DD><B> 2. </B>very bad; very unpleasant. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreadful place to live in. I have a dreadful cold.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (British.) a cheap, sensational story or magazine. See <B>penny dreadful.</B> noun <B>dreadfulness.</B> </DL>
<B>dreadless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no fear; fearless; undaunted. </DL>
<A NAME="dreadlocks">
<B>dreadlocks, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> hair with long, entwined curls, worn especially by Rastafarians. <BR> <I>Ex. Knees pumping and braided "dreadlocks" swirling around his head in time to the music, he [Bob Marley] drove home the message (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreadnaught">
<B>dreadnaught</B> or <B>dreadnought</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a large, powerful battleship with heavy armor and large guns. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) any large, powerful person or thing. <BR> <I>Ex. In choosing so many dreadnoughts--the heaviest, Muller, is 18 stone and square as a tank--the team may lack mobility (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreadnought">
<B>dreadnought</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a heavy coat or jacket of thick cloth with a long pile. <DD><B> 2. </B>a thick cloth with a long pile. </DL>
<A NAME="dream">
<B>dream, </B>noun, verb, <B>dreamed</B> or <B>dreamt,</B> <B>dreaming,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something thought, felt, seen, or heard during sleep. <BR> <I>Ex. I had a bad dream last night.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) something as unreal as a dream. <BR> <I>Ex. Life is an empty dream (Robert Browning).</I> (SYN) vision, fantasy. <DD><B> 3. </B>the state in which a person has dreams. <BR> <I>Ex. In his dream he seemed to be flying.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) something having great beauty or charm. <BR> <I>Ex. She was a dream of loveliness.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) a daydream; reverie. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy had dreams of being a hero. The search after the great is the dream of youth (Emerson). It's the only dream you can have--to come out number-one man (Arthur Miller).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to think, feel, see, or hear during sleep; see in a dream. <BR> <I>Ex. The little boy dreamed that he was flying. On that last night ... I dreamed a vision of the dead (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to think of (something) as possible; suppose in a vague way; imagine. <BR> <I>Ex. The day seemed so bright that we never dreamed it would rain.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to spend in dreaming. <BR> <I>Ex. I dream away my life in others' speculations (Charles Lamb).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have dreams. <BR> <I>Ex. During the night the little boy dreamed of having a dog.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to have daydreams. <BR> <I>Ex. She dreamed of being in the movies.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to think of something as possible; conceive. <BR> <I>Ex. I wouldn't dream of doing it.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to hover or hang without stirring, especially dreamily or drowsily. <BR> <I>Ex. Mist ... dreamed along the hills (Hawthorne).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Informal.) realizing a perfection not expected except in a dream; desirable or ideal. <BR> <I>Ex. a dream vacation. The only trouble with a dream house is that the owner never dreams how much it's going to cost (Wall Street Journal).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>dream up,</B> </I>(Informal.) to create (an invention, plan, or the like) mentally. <BR> <I>Ex. In his spare time he was always dreaming up new gadgets. He is studying new scores, or worrying about an oncoming script, or dreaming up ideas for Philharmonic programs (Harper's).</I> adv. <B>dreamingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamallegory">
<B>dream allegory,</B> <B>=dream vision.</B></DL>
<A NAME="dreamboat">
<B>dreamboat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a very attractive person. <BR> <I>Ex. I was assured by the ladies of the Nawab's party that the delegation's leader, Sheik Mohamad Abdullah Ali Riza ... was an absolute dreamboat (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a very imaginative invention, idea, or plan. <BR> <I>Ex. Today's commonplaces are often yesterday's dreamboats.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamer">
<B>dreamer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who dreams. <BR> <I>Ex. We are the music makers, We are the dreamers of dreams (Arthur O'Shaughnessy).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a person who does not fit his ideas to real conditions; an impractical person; visionary. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamer, planning a perfect world for the future.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamful">
<B>dreamful, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> full of dreams; dreamy. </DL>
<A NAME="dreamily">
<B>dreamily, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a dreamy manner; as in a dream. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Humbert's obsession began in a dreamily distant beach resort where he met and desperately loved a girl (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreaminess">
<B>dreaminess, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> dreamy state or condition. </DL>
<A NAME="dreamland">
<B>dreamland, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a place where a person seems to be when he is dreaming. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ideal place existing only in the imagination; an unreal place. <DD><B> 3. </B>sleep. </DL>
<A NAME="dreamless">
<B>dreamless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> free of dreams. <BR> <I>Ex. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by (Phillips Brooks).</I> adv. <B>dreamlessly.</B> noun <B>dreamlessness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamlike">
<B>dreamlike, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> like a dream; as vague, shadowy, or ideal as a dream. <BR> <I>Ex. A new world of dreamlike glory (Emerson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamscape">
<B>dreamscape, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a dreamlike picture or view. <BR> <I>Ex. His attempts to jolt us with the horrific dreamscapes of Tueuse's final breakdown swell with merely literary passion (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamt">
<B>dreamt, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> dreamed; a past tense and a past participle of <B>dream.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamvision">
<B>dream vision,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of medieval poem in which the poet describes a dream whose content forms an allegory; dream allegory. <I>The Pilgrim's Progress</I> is an example of the dream vision. </DL>
<A NAME="dreamworld">
<B>dream world,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a world that a person enters in dreams; world of dreams or illusions. <BR> <I>Ex. In the paper industry's dream world, women wear paper dresses and bake pies in disposable paper pans (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreamy">
<B>dreamy, </B>adjective, <B>dreamier,</B> <B>dreamiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>full of dreams. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamy sleep.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) like a dream; vague; dim. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamy recollection.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) fond of daydreaming; fanciful; not practical. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamy person.</I> (SYN) visionary. <DD><B> 4. </B>causing dreams; soothing. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamy lullaby, dreamy songs.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(U.S. Slang, Figurative.) beyond comparison; exciting or attractive; wonderful. <BR> <I>Ex. a dreamy car, a dreamy dress.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="drear">
<B>drear, </B>adjective. <B>=dreary.</B> <I>Ex. They have waited for this time through the long drear months of winter (Sports Illustrated).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="drearily">
<B>drearily, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a dreary manner; dismally. <BR> <I>Ex. She got up drearily, wondering if her troubles would ever end.</I> </DL>
<B>drearisome, </B>adjective. <B>=dreary.</B> <I>Ex. Currently retail stores are gearing up for another profitable--and drearisome--Davy Crockett-type craze (Saturday Evening Post).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreary">
<B>dreary, </B>adjective, <B>drearier,</B> <B>dreariest,</B> verb, <B>drearied,</B> <B>drearying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>dull; without cheer; gloomy; depressing. <BR> <I>Ex. A cold, rainy day is dreary. Once upon a midnight dreary (Edgar Allan Poe).</I> (SYN) cheerless, tedious, tiresome, dismal. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) sad; sorrowful. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make dreary. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the high frequencies most people don't seem to notice are like to split my eardrums. Besides, it [television] drearies the ball game (Jean Goldschmidt).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dreck">
<B>dreck, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) worthless stuff; junk; trash. <BR> <I>Ex. My house was filling up with ... all sorts of dreck like radios, phonograph machines (Jane Kramer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dredge">
<B>dredge</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>dredged,</B> <B>dredging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a machine with a scoop, series of buckets, or suction pipe for cleaning out or deepening a harbor or channel, or for excavating. <BR> <I>Ex. Two enormous barn-red dredges, working around the clock, sucked an acre and a half of clay off the lake bottom each day (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a machine with a net, used for gathering oysters or fish. It is dragged along the bottom of a river or the sea. <DD><B> 3. </B>a boat equipped for dredging. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to clean out, deepen, or excavate with a dredge. <DD><B> 2. </B>to bring up or gather with a dredge. <BR> <I>Ex. Samples of sandstone have been dredged from the seabed off the American shelf (Gaskell and Hill).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to dig up; collect. <BR> <I>Ex. The old gossip was perpetually dredging up long-forgotten scandals.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to use a dredge. <BR> <I>Ex. In Dale Bay there is a sandy bottom, with opportunities for dredging ... from the Centre's boat (A. W. Haslett).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dredge">
<B>dredge</B> (2), transitive verb, <B>dredged,</B> <B>dredging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to sprinkle. <BR> <I>Ex. The cook dredged the meat with flour.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to sift. <BR> <I>Ex. to dredge flour.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dredgeable">
<B>dredgeable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be dredged. <BR> <I>Ex. The material of the sea--or riverbed--is dredgeable (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
