awfully
Americanadverb
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very; extremely.
That was awfully nice of you. He's awfully slow.
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in a manner provoking censure, disapproval, or the like.
She behaved awfully all evening.
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Archaic.
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in a manner inspiring awe.
shouting awfully the dreaded curse.
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in a manner expressing awe.
to stare awfully.
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adverb
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in an unpleasant, bad, or reprehensible manner
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informal (intensifier)
I'm awfully keen to come
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archaic so as to express or inspire awe
Commonly Confused
See awful.
Etymology
Origin of awfully
Explanation
Use the adverb awfully to emphasize something, or to mean "very." You might say that you'd love to live in New York City, but it's awfully expensive. The word awfully is most often used for emphasis, as a way to say "extremely," "immensely," or "highly." Your newborn nephew might be awfully cute, or your surprise birthday party might be awfully fun. You can also use the word to mean "dreadfully" or "terribly," as in "My team played just awfully, so I wasn't surprised when they lost the game." The original meaning was "inspiring awe" or "inspiring reverence."
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.
That kind of never-say-die only seems like yesterday, but in other ways it feels like an awfully long time ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He’s lived long enough to get used to the feeling of being unfortunately, awfully correct.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
In practice, many who chase it end up working awfully hard at trying to not have to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Limbo doesn’t have a ZIP code, but it’s an awfully unsettling place to live.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
Besides, it was awfully hard to be glum when Clara was around, ghost or not.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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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.
