awful
[ aw-fuh l ]
/ ˈɔ fəl /
adjective
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
Informal. very; extremely: He did an awful good job of painting the barn. It's awful hot in here.
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depressing, dreadful, atrocious, horrific, distressing, tough, harrowing, horrible, disgusting, appalling, frightful, ugly, unpleasant, ghastly, dire, horrendous, gruesome, nasty, hideous, shocking
Nearby words
Origin of awful
Usage note
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for awful
awful
/ (ˈɔːfʊl) /
adjective
very bad; unpleasant
archaic inspiring reverence or dread
archaic overcome with awe; reverential
adverb
not standard (intensifier)an awful cold day
Word Origin for awful
C13: see awe, -ful
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
awful
c.1300, agheful "worthy of respect or fear," from aghe, an earlier form of awe (n.), + -ful. Replaced Old English egefull. Weakened sense "very bad" is from 1809; weakened sense of "exceedingly" is by 1818.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper