awful
Americanadjective
-
extremely bad; unpleasant; ugly.
awful paintings; an awful job.
-
inspiring fear; dreadful; terrible.
an awful noise.
-
solemnly impressive; inspiring awe.
the awful majesty of alpine peaks.
-
full of awe; reverential.
-
extremely dangerous, risky, injurious, etc..
That was an awful fall she had. He took an awful chance by driving here so fast.
adverb
adjective
-
very bad; unpleasant
-
archaic inspiring reverence or dread
-
archaic overcome with awe; reverential
adverb
Commonly Confused
Although some object to any use of awful or awfully in any sense not connected with a feeling of awe, both have been used in other senses for several centuries. Awful and awfully as adverbial intensifiers— awful ( ly ) hot; awful ( ly ) cold —appear in the early 19th century, following much the same pattern as horribly and dreadfully. As an adverb awful is less formal in tone than awfully. In the sense “inspiring awe or fear” awesome has largely replaced awful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of awful
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English a(g)heful, aueful; awe + -ful; replacing Old English egefull “dreadful”
Explanation
Describe something that is exceptionally bad as awful, but be careful: Saying your mom's cooking is awful may be truthful, but it's also likely to get you a frying pan upside the head. In addition to meaning exceptionally bad, the adjective awful can also mean exceedingly large or extreme in degree. That new car costs an awful lot of money, for example. Perhaps you should think about a bus pass or bicycle instead! As an adverb, awful is used as an intensifier, meaning very. As in, "It's taking you an awful long time to finish that paper. Stop procrastinating."
Vocabulary lists containing awful
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.
The least the rest of us can do now is hear the awful beauty of their testimony.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
“Ye can make awful music and still be right about Hitler.”
From Salon • May 17, 2026
"At the moment, with the exams, they're under an awful lot of pressure. So I don't think it's unreasonable for them to go and have a cup of coffee as a group and work together."
From BBC • May 15, 2026
Each awful encounter on the father and daughter’s journey dims their faith in humanity.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
It must feel awful for Auntie North, he considered.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
