frightfully
frightfully — 副詞
1. a word used before adjectives or adverbs to make their meaning stronger, similar
非常；極其
英式非正式用語，表示程度很高
a word used before adjectives or adverbs to make their meaning stronger, similar to 'very' or 'extremely'. It is commonly used in informal British English and often gives a slightly old-fashioned or upper-class tone to what someone says.
Lord Winthorpe looked frightfully uncomfortable in his stiff collar at the ceremony.
溫思羅普勛爵穿著硬挺的禮服領子，在典禮上看起來非常不自在。
frightfully + adjective after linking verb
A plate of frightfully expensive oysters sat untouched on the buffet table.
一盤極其昂貴的生蠔放在自助餐桌上，完全沒有人動。
Aunt Beatrice found the novel frightfully dull and put it down after three pages.
碧翠絲阿姨覺得這本小說非常無聊，看了三頁就放下了。
The butler whispered that the guests were being frightfully difficult about the seating plan.
管家低聲說，客人們對於座位安排非常不滿。
- very
neutral, cross-register default — the most common intensifier in English
- terribly
similar British informal intensifier with the same 'awful' etymology, slightly more common in modern speech
- awfully
very close in tone and register to 'frightfully', also British informal and mildly old-fashioned
- dreadfully
stronger and more emotional than 'frightfully'; implies real distress or disappointment
文法句型
frightfully + adjective
frightfully + adverb
用法筆記
This sense is primarily British and informal. Frequent use can sound dated or posh — modern British speakers often prefer 'really', 'very', or 'absolutely' in everyday speech. It typically appears with adjectives describing personal feelings, social situations, or judgements (sorry, good, nice, boring, expensive, awkward, difficult).