awed
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- awedly adverb
- awedness noun
- unawed adjective
Etymology
Origin of awed
Explanation
When you're awed by something, you're amazed and maybe a little bit intimidated by it. The first time kids see a fireworks display, they're often awed by it. The first time you visit a big city, you might wander around looking up at the skyscrapers with an awed expression on your face. When you're awed, you're full of wonder that's tinged with fear or confusion. It's generally big, impressive things that leave you awed. A new father holding his baby might be awed, for example. Awed comes from awe, "amazement," which has a Scandinavian root and is related to the Old Norse word agi, or "fright."
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.
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
China has long awed visitors with wonders such as the Great Wall and the terracotta warriors buried in an ancient tomb.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025
His shock-and-awe campaign has been theatrical, but I’m neither shocked nor awed.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2025
When Trump first met Barack Obama after winning the 2016 election, he appeared to be awed by the office he was inheriting.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2025
The first several times I had gone to the White City, I had been awed and overwhelmed by its beauty.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions 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.
