terribly

adverb

Synonyms of terriblynext
1
: to an extreme degree : very, extremely
became terribly ill
had a terribly nice time
got terribly excited
I had tried a little radio before the war and hadn't been terribly impressed with it at the time.—Walter Cronkite
He and Jimmy got into a quarrel about the girl's being fired, and it got terribly bitter.—Virginia Foster Durr
2
: in a terrible way : very badly, poorly, or unpleasantly
behaving terribly
They were treated terribly.
This can be regarded as a somewhat progressive attitude because it is true that women were terribly abused in the Roman world.—Norman F. Cantor
And then the next year I played terribly and finished close to last.—Gene Littler
3
: very much
I miss you terribly.

Examples of terribly in a Sentence

I'm terribly sorry to bother you
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Probably nothing too terribly bad, especially since Denver has done it without much offensive consistency. — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026 Susanna Moore is terribly important to us, more so than any of Hemingway’s gallant girls. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026 The Nazis employed the V-2 heavily during this time, but the rocket was not terribly accurate. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Oct. 2026 Nothing terribly exciting is happening inside this three-bedroom, but there’s lots of light and a respectable amount of space, and the beach is just a few minutes away. — Nora Deligter, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for terribly

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of terribly was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Terribly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terribly. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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