---
title: terrible — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «terrible» in the school dictionary: Terrible means very bad or unpleasant: a terrible storm, a terrible smell. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# terrible

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Terrible, terrible storm, I, cheese, story, It · **What happens:** mean, cause, do, be, feel, think · **To what, where:** great harm, it, terrible hurry, flu, terrible smell, terrible accident · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«terrible» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [terrible in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/terrible.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Terrible means very bad or unpleasant: a terrible storm, a terrible smell.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:m1:1
# text = Terrible means very bad or unpleasant: a terrible storm, a terrible smell.
1	Terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	unpleasant	unpleasant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Terrible |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Terrible means very serious and causing great harm or fear: a terrible accident.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:m2:1
# text = Terrible means very serious and causing great harm or fear: a terrible accident.
1	Terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	causing	cause	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	conj	_	_
7	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	harm	harm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Terrible |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **cause** | gerund | Terrible *not said here* | great harm or fear |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition harm=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Terrible at something means very bad at doing it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:m3:1
# text = Terrible at something means very bad at doing it.
1	Terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	nsubj	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	1	obl	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
7	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Terrible |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **do** | gerund | Terrible *not said here* | it |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Informally, terrible can just mean very great: a terrible hurry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:m4:1
# text = Informally, terrible can just mean very great: a terrible hurry.
1	Informally	informally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	just	just	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	very	very	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	hurry	hurry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | terrible | a terrible hurry |  |  |  | great *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a terrible storm last night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x1:1
# text = There was a terrible storm last night.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
6	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a terrible storm |  |  | there | night |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I feel terrible — I think I have the flu.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x2:1
# text = I feel terrible — I think I have the flu.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	feel	feel	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	flu	flu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | present | I |  |  |  |  | terrible *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 3 | **have** | present | I | the flu |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent flu=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That cheese has a terrible smell.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x3:1
# text = That cheese has a terrible smell.
1	That	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	cheese	cheese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | that cheese | a terrible smell |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent smell=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'm terrible at whistling.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x4:1
# text = I'm terrible at whistling.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	whistling	whistle	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | terrible *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **whistle** | gerund | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The story was about a terrible dragon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x5:1
# text = The story was about a terrible dragon.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the story |  |  |  |  | about a terrible dragon | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was a terrible accident, but nobody was badly hurt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x6:1
# text = It was a terrible accident, but nobody was badly hurt.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
10	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
11	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a terrible accident |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hurt** | past · passive |  | nobody |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'm terribly sorry I'm late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x7:1
# text = I'm terribly sorry I'm late.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	terribly	terribly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | sorry, terribly *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There arose a very terrible storm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:terrible:x8:1
# text = There arose a very terrible storm.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	arose	arise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arise** | past |  | a terrible storm |  | there |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location storm=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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