awe
Americannoun
-
an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.
in awe of God; in awe of great political figures.
- Synonyms:
- veneration, wonder
-
Archaic. power to inspire fear or reverence.
-
Obsolete. fear or dread.
verb (used with object)
-
awes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
awed,
past participle, past
-
awing
present participle
-
to inspire with awe.
-
to influence or restrain by awe.
noun
-
overwhelming wonder, admiration, respect, or dread
-
archaic power to inspire fear or reverence
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
awesimple
-
awessimple
-
have awedperfect
-
has awedperfect
-
am awingprogressive
-
are awingprogressive
-
is awingprogressive
-
have been awingperfect progressive
-
has been awingperfect progressive
Past
-
awedsimple
-
had awedperfect
-
was awingprogressive
-
were awingprogressive
-
had been awingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of awe
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English aghe, awe, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse agi “fear,” cognate with Gothic agis, Old English ege, Greek áchos “pain”
Explanation
Awe is a feeling of fear that is mixed with respect and wonder. You might gaze at the Grand Canyon with awe, marveling at its beauty and fearing its depth. Awe dates back to Middle English, and was borrowed from Old Norse, a Scandinavian language. In Middle English the word referred to intense fear. The related English word awful originally meant "full of or causing intense fear." And awesome, which originally meant "inspiring awe" now is used generally as a synonym for excellent.
Vocabulary lists containing awe
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But by the time he enters high school, he’s already gone from “reading A.A. Milne to Bukowski,” and by 17, he’s pondering Sonnet #2 by Ted Berrigan, in awe of how Berrigan “subverted the form.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Passersby whipped out their phones to snap photos, while others pointed in awe and disbelief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Last week, Banton said remains "in awe" of the iconic England batter.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
One of those, Tom Banton, said last week he is still in awe of the four-time Ashes-winner, so much so he was struggling to build up the courage to speak to him.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
They looked at him with what seemed like awe but asked nothing more as they headed home.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
The keyboard introduction to What Was I Made For?, taken from the recent soundtrack to the Barbie movie, draws gasps and "awes" from around the field.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2023
The pace of building in South Korea awes, but there are gripes that the quality of public exhibitions, and professional standards, varies widely.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
While Churchill awes spectators with its size and scope, on par with the world’s monumental stadiums, Keeneland, opened in 1936, guards its idyllic appeal.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2021
The teacher has already inserted into the hat the rabbit whose production in the classroom awes the undergraduates.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 24, 2015
And godless though I am, the fact of being human, the fact of possessing the gift of study, and thus being remarkable among all the matter floating through the cosmos, still awes me.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The total eclipse plunged a vast swathe of Spain from broad daylight into darkness Wednesday, drawing awed gasps and applause from spectators gathered in parks and cities across the country.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
"You've got to be awed by it all, which I never cease to be."
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Some might find it humanizing—proof that below the bloviating gestalt, the president can become awed by existential futility.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Lawrence’s childhood home—the narrator is awed and cowed by the impossibly delicate stemware and casual references to “Finnegan’s Wake.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
So awed was I that it was a moment before my eyes fell on the figure at the writing desk, bent over some close task.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
He has a unique capacity for memorizing data that he frequently recites, awing listeners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2023
Inside the Sistine Chapel, where in the past I have been shoved and elbowed by the crowds, about 30 spectators were awing over Perugino’s frescoes and craning to see Michelangelo’s burly musclemen on the ceiling.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2021
Doing the things only she can do, awing her peers while trying to silence her inner critic in the process.
From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2021
The idea is to terrify the enemy: the effect will be to petrify ourselves, shocking and awing us into understanding the full implications of no deal.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 29, 2019
There is something really a little awing about pure gold new-born from the soil.
From Gold by Stewart Edward White
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
