The Adverb of Terrible: Terribly
The adverb of terrible is terribly.
How terribly is formed
The adjective ends in -le. Drop the e and add -y: terrible → terribl + y = terribly.
The whole -ible and -able family works this way: horrible → horribly, possible → possibly, comfortable → comfortably.
Terribly in a sentence
| The plan went terribly wrong. | The original sense: badly, dreadfully. |
| I am terribly sorry. | A plain intensifier – the meaning has drained away entirely. |
| She was terribly kind about it. | Meaning very kind. Nothing terrible is involved. |
Where it is actually used
Knowing the form is one thing; knowing the company a word keeps is what makes it sound natural. These are the patterns terribly appears in most often.
| terribly sorry / kind / sweet | British English, and purely an intensifier. |
| terribly wrong / difficult / sad | The older, negative sense. |
| not terribly good / interested | A very British understatement meaning not good at all. |
Terribly or something else?
Several adverbs sit close to terribly, and the difference is usually meaning rather than formality.
| horribly | Never made the jump to a neutral intensifier. Terribly nice is normal; horribly nice is not English. |
| awfully | Went the same way as terribly: awfully good is entirely positive. |
| dreadfully | Sits between them – it can intensify, but keeps more of its darker colour. |
The mistake to watch for
| Incorrect | Correct |
| terriblely | terribly |
The -le ending becomes the -ly. Keeping both adds a syllable nobody says.
A word that turned inside out. Terrible, terrific and terror all come from the same Latin root meaning to frighten. Terrific now means excellent and terribly often means very – both drifted through centuries of use as emphasis until the fear fell out of them. Terror alone kept the original force.
Related forms
Pronunciation: TERR-ib-lee, three syllables.
| Adjective | terrible |
| Adverb | terribly |
| Noun | terror |
| Related | terrific (now means excellent), terrifying |
Practice
Fill the gap, then check yourself.
- I am ___ sorry to have kept you waiting.
- The experiment went ___ wrong.
- She was ___ pleased with the result.
Answers: 1. terribly 2. terribly / horribly 3. terribly (not horribly)
Frequently asked
Is terribly as an intensifier only British?
It is far more common in British English. American speakers understand it but tend to use really or awfully instead.
