Awful

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːfÊŠl

Alternative forms

• awfull archaic

Origin

From awe + -ful.

Full definition of awful

Adjective

1. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling, terrible.
2. (now rare) Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence or respect; profoundly impressive.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.56:God ought not to be commixed in our actions, but with awful reverence, and an attention full of honour and respect.
• 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.143:And then she stopped, and stood as if in awe
  (For sleep is awful) ....
3. Struck or filled with awe.
4. (obsolete) Terror-stricken.
5. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding.
6. Exceedingly great; usually applied intensively.an awful bonnetI have learnt an awful amount today.
7. Very bad.My socks smell awful.

Usage notes

Nouns to which "awful" is often applied: day, truth, time, place, moment, mess, night, news, state, situation, smell, thought, person, pain, movie, consequence, crime, fate, death, tragedy, man, event, disease, story, condition, mistake, taste, picture, year, calamity, doom, film, catastrophe, secret, performance, storm, end, week, shape, choice.

Synonyms

Adverb

1. (colloquial) Very, extremely; as, an awful big house.