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:
About 20 minutes later, team captain Christian Yelich finally made his way into the clubhouse, still in awe of what was happening in the stands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
While I spoke with 20 people for this piece, I received 178 individual responses of all kinds, ranging from shock and awe to relative disappointment to distinctly modern moviegoing gripes.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
"And yet we're not giving it the attention, we're not giving it the awe that it probably truly deserves," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
If Susskind feels awe walking into the Sistine Chapel, others might experience awe of a different type using a chatbot like ChatGPT.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“It is the Black Crochan,” Taran whispered in fear and awe.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
That tidbit elicited oohs, awes and cheers from the crowd at Boston’s Wang Theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
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
There is an innocence in him that I have found merely foreign and foolish; yet in another moment that seeming innocence reveals a discipline of knowledge and a largeness of purpose that awes me.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
It was a moment of personal fulfilment for Sir Patrick who, as an awed teenager, remembered watching Peter O'Toole in the play at the Bristol Old Vic.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
Some might find it humanizing—proof that below the bloviating gestalt, the president can become awed by existential futility.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
“He started building this world when he was 14,” she says, still a little awed by his confidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
I do not respond and we three sit in silence, Carmine awed into stillness by the boy’s presence.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
He has a unique capacity for memorizing data that he frequently recites, awing listeners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2023
Holmgren stole the show as a soloist at times, swatting shots, swooping for dunks and awing the crowd with his agility.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2021
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
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
A flight of ascending chords brings the big exaltation of the first prophetic phrase, ever answered by exultant ring of trumpet, ending in sudden awing pause.
From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Philip H. Goepp
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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.
